Rajasthan Board RBSE Class 12 History Chapter 4 Mughal Invasion: Types and Effects
RBSE Class 12 History Chapter 4 Textual Questions
RBSE Class 12 History Chapter 4 Multiple Choice Questions
Question 1.
Who said that, “We should attack on the roots of the dried – up tree, and the branches will themselves fall down ?”
(a) Shivaji
(b) Shahu
(c) Balaji Vishwanath
(d) Bajirao-I
Answer:
(d) Bajirao-I
Question 2.
Which of the following titles was not attained by Bappa Rawal ?
(a) Hindu Surya
(b) Rajguru
(c) Chhakkvay
(d) Hindu Surtran
Answer:
(d) Hindu Surtran
Question 3.
At which place were battles fought between Prithviraj Chauhan and Muhammad Ghori?
(a) Tarain
(b) Panipat
(c) Khanwa
(d) Haldighati
Answer:
(a) Tarain
Question 4.
In which year did Alauddin Khilji occupy Ranthambhore ?
(a) 1299 CE
(b) 1300 CE
(c) 1301 CE
(d) 1303 CE
Answer:
(c) 1301 CE
Question 5.
According to Malik Muhammad Jaisi’s composition ‘Padmawat’, what was the cause of Alauddin Khilji’s invasion upon Chittor ?
(a) The imperialistic ambition of Alauddin Khilji
(b) Increasing power of Mewar
(c) Geographical and military importance of Chittor
(d) The desire to obtain queen Padmini
Answer:
(d) The desire to obtain queen Padmini
Question 6.
Which Rajasthani ruler is famous in history for his cultural achievements ?
(a) Maharana Sanga
(b) Maharana Kumbha
(c) Maharana Pratap
(d) Prithviraj Chauhan
Answer:
(b) Maharana Kumbha
Question 7.
At which place did Maharana Sanga defeat the army of Babur ?
(a) Khanya
(b) Bayana
(c) Bari
(d) Khatoli
Answer:
(b) Bayana
Question 8.
For the protection of which riyasat of Rajasthan did Durgadas Rathore struggle against Aurangzeb for an extended period of time ?
(a) Amer
(b) Marwar
(c) Mewar
(d) Kota
Answer:
(b) Marwar
RBSE Class 12 History Chapter 4 Very Short Answer Type Questions
Question 1.
Which courtesans were sent by Akbar to convince Maharana Pratap ?
Answer:
To convince Maharana Pratap, Akbar sent his very clever orator courtesan Jalal Khan Korchi and three other courtesans respectively – Mansingh, Bhagwat Das and Todarmal.
Question 2.
What was the importance of Vijaya Stambha of Chittor in the Indian National Movement ?
Answer:
During the Indian National Movement, the Vijaya Stambha had become the source of inspiration for the revolutionaries.
Question 3.
When and where was Shivaji born ?
Answer:
Shivaji was born on 20th April, 1627 CE in a hilly fort of Shivner near Puna (Maharashtra).
Question 4.
When and between whom was the battle of Haldighati fought ?
Answer:
The battle of Haldighati was fought in 1576 CE between Akbar and Maharana Pratap.
Question 5.
Why is Rao Chandrasen of Mewar known as “The Mentor of Pratap’?
Answer:
The start of the struggle which was done by Chandrasen, was adopted by Maharana Pratap, who became extremely renowned in later period. Due to this, Rao Chandrasen is known as “the Mentor of Pratap”.
Question 6.
Between whom did the treaty of Champaner take place ?
Answer:
The treaty of Champaner took place in 1565 CE between Mewar and Gujarat.
Question 7.
When and against which power did the last compaign of Mahmud Ghazni take place?
Answer:
The last invasion of Mahmud Ghazni was in 1027 CE against the Jats of Sindh.
Question 8.
Who was the last Hindu king to attain the throne of Delhi ?
Answer:
The last Hindu king to attain the throne of Delhi was Prithviraj Chauhan.
Question 9.
Write the names of any four literal sources of information about Hammir Dev Chauhan.
Answer:
Four literal sources of information about Hammir Dev Chauhan are
- Hammir Mahakavya (Nayan Chandra Suri)
- Hammirayan (Vyas Bhand)
- Hammir Raso (Jodhraj)
- Hammir Bandhan (Amrit Kailash).
Question 10.
Which Rajasthani ruler is known as Hindupath and why ?
Answer:
Maharana Sanga, the ruler of Mewar is known as ‘Hindupath’ because he wanted to establish Hindu rule in India.
Question 11.
Which is called as the emergency-time capital of Marwar ?
Answer:
‘Shivana’ is called as the emergency-time capital of Marwar.
Question 12.
Which Muslim historian participated in the battle of Haldighati from Akbar’s side ?
Answer:
In the battle of Haldighati, Historian Badayuni participated from Akbar’s side.
Question 13.
Which two titles prove Maharana Kumbha to be a great musician ?
Answer:
The two titles that prove Maharana Kumbha to be a great musician are
- Abhinav Bharatacharya,
- Veenavadan Pravinen.
Question 14.
Why was Maharana Sanga addressed as ‘Remains of a soldier ?
Answer:
One of his eyes was damaged at the time of battle with his brother Prithviraj. In the battle of Khatoli against Ibrahim Lodhi, he lost his hand and he also became lame by one leg. At the time of his death, at least 80 bruises of blows of swords and spears were present on his body, which proved him as ‘the remains of a soldier.’
RBSE Class 12 History Chapter 4 Short Answer Type Questions
Question 1.
What were the reasons of Arab invasions upon India ?
Answer:
Reasons of Arab invasions of India were as following:
- Islam had organized the Arabians and had infused an immense desire of religious propagation in them. Just like in other countries, the objective of propagating their religion inspired them to invade upon India also.
- The Khalifa was not only the religious head of the Islam community, but also the political head. So, the spirit of empire extension was also naturally present.
- The Arabs were well-aware of the economic prosperity of India. They wanted to acquire wealth through invasions.
Question 2.
Describe the cultural consequences of Arabs’ victory upon Sindh.
Answer:
With cultural viewpoint, India attained victory upon the Arabs. Indian philosophy, science, mathematics, medical science and astrology influenced the Arabians in a great way. They got many Indian Sanskrit texts translated into Arabic language, among which, Brahmagupta’s Brahmasiddhanta and Kandakhadyaka are the most famous ones.
The Arabian people learned various fundamental principles such as number system, decimal system, medical science and astrological science from the Indians and adopted Indian methods in the field of art and architecture also. Various things associated with Indian philosophy, literature and art were introduced to the European people through the Arabs. In this way, Indian knowledge successfully reached the western countries through the Arabs.
Question 3.
Describe the first Muslim opposition done by Nagabhata – I.
Answer:
During the reign of Nagabhata-I, the Bilochs and Arabs invaded India from the direction of Sindh. He not only proteted western India from Muslim invasions, but also reoccupied the regions which were destructed by them. In Gwalior Prashasti, Nagabhata-I has been adorned with the title of ‘Narayana’ as he had failed the invasions made by foreigners and was the well-wisher of the helpless.
It is also known from the description made by Muslim author Al Biladuri that the contemporary Arab ruler Junaid did not gain success against Malwa. Nausari inscription contains the names of those rulers who were defeated by the Arabs, but the absence of Nagabhata-I’s name proves the authenticity of the abovementioned facts.
Question 4.
What were the reasons for failure of Prithviraj Chauhan against Muhammad Ghori ?
Answer:
Even after being a conqueror, Prithviraj Chauhan lacked foresightedness and diplomacy. He did not establish cordial relations with his neighbouring kingdoms, instead he waged wars with them and made them his enemy. For this reason, he did not receive their help at the time of war against Muhammad Ghori.
In 1178 CE, when Muhammad Ghori had invaded upon Gujarat ruler Bhimdev – II, at that time, Prithviraj committed a mistake by not providing help to Gujarat. Another major fault of his was not attacking the Turkish army which was fleeing after being defeated in the first battle of Tarain. If he had violently attacked the army of his enemy at that time, then Muhammad Ghori would never have dared attack upon him again. Due to above given reasons, Prithiviraj remained unsuccessful.
Question 5.
Why was Rao Chandrasen not given due importance in the history of Marwar?
Answer:
As Chandrasen did not receive due recognition in history, he is also called as “The Forgotton Hero of Marwar”. The major reason behind the fading off of the name of Chandrasen in history is because on one hand, after the death of Pratap, the rule of state of Mewar fell into the hands of his sons and son – in – laws, and on the other hand, after the death of Chandrasen, his brother Udai Singh occupied the throne of Marwar. Chandrasen and Udai Singh always remained in conflict.
Question 6.
How can you say that Maharana Pratap was a religiously tolerant ruler ?
Answer:
Maharana Pratap was a guardian of religion and he always respected the state symbol. He belived in keeping religion above everything. Under the guadianship of Pratap, Chakrapani Mishra wrote three Sanskrit texts named-Rajyabhishek Padyati, Muhurtamala and Vishvavallabha. These texts are associated with the process of enthronement as per ancient scriptures, astrological science and forest science respectively.
During the reign of Pratap, Hemratna Suri composed a poetic text “Gora Badal Katha Padmini Chaupai” in 1595 CE, getting inspiration from Tarachand who was the brother of Bhamashah. Above facts show the religious tolerence of Maharana Pratap.
Question 7.
What were the reasons of defeat of Maharana Sanga in the battle of Khanwa ?
Answer:
The reasons of defeat of Maharana Sanga in the battle of Khanwa were as following
- The major reason for defeat of Sanga was not entering into war immediately after the victory on Bayana and giving enough time to Babur for war preparations.
- The Rajput soldiers were fighting with traditional weapons. They could not face the shells blowing out of Babur’s cannons with their bows and arrows, spears and swords.’
- Sanga made another big mistake by sitting on an elephant because due to this, the enemy got opportunity to injure him by exactly pointing towards him. As he went away injured from the battlefield, the morale of his army declined.
- There was lack of unity and coordination in the Rajput army because the entire army was collected under the leadership of different chieftains.
- Due to its momentum, the horse army of Babur dominated the elephant army of the Rajputs. As the elephants were terrified due to the blow of shells from Babur’s cannons, they caused great loss by crushing their own armymen.
Question 8.
Evaluate the Rathore-Sisodia alliance against Aurangzeb.
Answer:
The Marwar chieftains reached Jodhpur along with Ajit Singh, but as Jodhpur had been occupied by the royal army, they became concerned about the security of Ajit Singh. Majaraja Jaswant Singh’s eldest queen Rani Jaswantde was the daughter of Bundi’s Rao Chhatrasal. Her half-sister Kanan Kumari was married to Maharana Raj Singh.
Due to this, Durgadas sent a request to Maharana Raj Singh to provide protection to Ajit Singh through Kanan Kumari. The issue of security of Mewar was also associated with the entire incident. Due to this, Raj Singh accepted the request and granted the lease of Kelve along with twelve villages to Ajit Singh. When Aurangzeb came to know about all this, he sent an order to the Maharana demanding Ajit Singh’s custody, but the Maharana did not pay any attention to this.
Question 9.
Describe the major provisions of the Tready of Purandar.
Answer:
TheThe treaty of Purandar was signed in June 1665 CE between Shivaji and Jai Singh. According to major provisions of this treaty, Shivaji handed over 23 forts to the Mughals and convinced them to provide support to the Marathas against Bijapur in time of need. Shivaji was not forced to appear in the court personally. During the time of this treaty, french traveller Bernier was also present.
Question 10.
Describe the struggle between Mewar and Delhi Sultanate during the reign of Maharana Sanga.
Answer:
At the time of Sikandar Lodi itself, Sanga (Mewar) had started occupying the regions under Delhi, but due to the weakness of his kingdom, he could not dare confront the Maharana. Sikandar Lodi’s successor Ibrahim Lodi invaded Mewar in 1517 CE. A battle took place between the two armies at a place called Khatoli (Kota), in which Rana emerged victorious. Sultan became successful in fleeing away from the battlefield, but one of his princes was imprisoned.
In this battle, the left hand of Sanga was cut off by a sword and as an arrow had struck his knee, he became lame forever. In order to avenge the defeat of Khatoli, Ibrahim Lodi sent a massive army under the leadership of Miya Makhan in 1518 CE, but in the battle, which took place at Bari (Dhaulpur), Sanga defeated the royal army for one more time.
Question 11.
Evaluate the religious policy of Shivaji.
Answer:
In order to promote Brahmin scholars, Shivaji had arranged for a separate cash amount. For being an insistent Hindu, Shivaji was a religiously – tolerant ruler. He had provided complete freedom of thought and namaz to his Mulsim subjects and provided equivalent financial assistance to Mulsim fakirs and peers. He built an ashram for Baba Yakoot of Keloshi.
During war campaigns, if his soldiers got hold of the Holy Quran, they used to give it to their Muslim companion to read it. Muslim historian Khafi Khan has appreciated the religious tolerance of Shivaji and the respectful behaviour which he showed towards the Mulsim women and children whom he found during the battle.
Question 12.
Which were the similarities and differences between Maharana Pratap and Rao Chandrasen?
Answer:
Similarities – Both Chandrasen and Pratap were forced to confront the opposition of their brothers and companions. The Mughals were occupying Mandalgarh and Chittor in Mewar and Medta, Nagaur, Ajmer and other places in Marwar.
Differences – Alongwith similarities, some fundamental differences were also present in the activities of both the rulers. Both the ruelrs remained in their hilly territories and beat the Mughals but like Pratap had, Chandrasen was unable to establish a permanent capital like Chavand. Pratap received assistance in special circumstances due to the presence of Chandrasen and decentralization of the Mughal army.
Question 13.
If you were in place of Hammir Chauhan, what decision would you take in context to sending the rebels against Alauddin Khilji back and why?
Answer:
According to Hammir Mahakavya, one reason for attack upon Ranthambore was that the ruler Hammir had give protection to Alauddin Khilji’s rebel commander Mir Muhammad. Muslim Historian Isami has also confirmed this reason in his description. In 1299 CE, Alauddin Khilji had sent his two commanders Ulugh Khan and Nusrat Khan to invade Gujarat.
After conquering Gujarat, when the army was returning the Nav Muslims revolted near Jalore on the issue of the division of body. Although the rebels were barbarically suppressed yet out of them Muhammad Shah and his brother Kamru were successful in running away from there and reaching Ranthambhore ruler Hammir. Hammir not only provided them protection but also conferred the Jagir of Jagana to Muhammad Shah.
From Alauddin Khilji’s side, a demand was made to handover these rebels. When Hammir rejected this demand, the army of Alauddin Khilji attacked Ranthambhore. Giving protection to the refugees is a religious duty as per our scriptures. This kind of example was also set by king Raghu and Samudragupta. I were in place of Hammir, I would also take the same decision.
Question 14.
Describe the achievements of Bappa Rawal as a winner.
Answer:
Bappa Rawal is regarded as the actual founder of Guhil dynasty of Mewar. Bappa became engaged in the service of Chittor ruler Man Mori. At this time, the foreign Mughal army invaded Chittor. Raja Man asked his feudal lords to confront the foreign army, but they declined. Finally Bappa Rawal accepted this challenge and proceeded for the battle.
The foreign invaders could not resist the unparallel bravery of Bappa and they fled away towards Sindh. Chasing his enemies, Bappa reached the capital Ganji. Bappa defeated the Ganji ruler Salim and enthroned his nephew there. Bappa married Salim’s daughter and returned to Chittor. Thus, Bappa was a successful winner.
RBSE Class 12 History Chapter 4 Long Answer Type Questions
Question 1.
Evaluate the political and cultural achievements of Maharana Kumbha.
Answer:
Maharana Kumbha ascended the throne of Mewar in 1433 CE. His father was Maharana Mokal and his mother’s name was Saubhagya Devi. After becoming the ruler, he not only successfully confronted the internal and external problems through his courage and valour, but also conferred heights to the prestige of Chittor through his wartime and cultural achievements.
Initial Problems Faced by Kumba :
At the time of becoming the ruler, various internal and external problems were present in front of Kumbha. The offsprings of Mewar’s Maharana Kshetra Singh’s (1364 – 82 CE) queen consort, his uncle and Mera was making efforts to kill his father and occupy Mewar. Due to this reason, the chieftains of Mewar had become divided into two groups – One group supported his father and the other group supported his uncle, Mera and Mehpa Panwaar.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, several Rajputs started to make efforts to establish their independent kingdom. Soon after, the army sent by Kumbha under the leadership of Ranmal and Raghavdev crushed the rebels. Uncle and Mera were killed along with their supporters, but uncle’s son Ekka and Mehpa Panwaar were successful in fleeing and reaching the haven of Malwa’s Sultan Mahmud Khilji.
Political Achievements of Maharana Kumbha :
Mewar – Malwa Relationship : Mewar and Malwa both were neighbouring kingdoms and the rulers of these kingdoms wished to expand the frontiers of their respective kingdoms. Due to this reason, struggle between them was inevitable, but provision of protection by Sultan of Malwa to the rebel chieftain of Kumbha became the immediate reason of struggle between them.
Mehpa Panwar who had assassinated Mokal, took refuge of Malwa’s Sultan Mahmud Khilji. Kumbha wrote a letter to the Sultan and demanded Mehpa, but this was rejected by the Sultan. Therefore Kumbha decided to invade Malwa. A violent struggle took place between the two armies at a place called Sarangpur in 1434 in which Mahmud khilji fled away ofter being defeated.
Kumbha followed Mahmud and seiged Malwa and he imprisoned him and brought him to Chittor: After keeping him in imprisonment for six months, he released him without any condition. In order to avenge his first defeat, Mahmud Khilji invaded Kumbhalgarh in 1443 CE. Kumbha had deployed a powerful army under the leadership of Deep Singh near the Ban Mata Temple under the door of the fort.
After the violent struggle which continued for seven days, the enemy’s army could occupy the temple. This army of Mahmud tried to occupy chittor also, but it remained unsuccessful. In 1446 CE for one more time, Mahmud tried to occupy Mandalgarh and Chittor, but this time also, he could not gain success. In 1456 CE, Mahmud made his last successful attempt to occupy Mandalgarh.
Mewar – Gujrat Relationship :
At the time of Kumbha, mal-administration prevailing in Gujarat had ended and the rulers there were eager to extend their region of influence. The struggle continuing between Malwa and Mewar and the political condition of Sirohi and Gujrat made the struggle between Mewar and Gujrat inevitable.
In 1456 CE, after the death of Firoz Khan, his son shams khan became the new ruler of Nagaur, but Firoz’s younger brother Mujahid Khan defeated Shams Khan and occupied Nagaur. Shams Khan reoccupied Nagaur with the help of Maharana Kumbha and shortly after this, against the conditions laid down by Kumbha, he started repair of the Nagaur fort. Angered Kumbha invaded Nagaur and Occupied it.
Shams Khan got his daughter married to Sultan Qutb – Ud – din of Gujrat and requested his assistance. On this, Qutb – Ud – Din proceeded to invade Mewar. On the request of Dewra ruler of Sirohi, he sent his commander Malik Shahban to conquer Abu and himself proceeded towards Kumbhalgarh. According to historian Firishta, after acquiring wealth from Rana, the Sultan returned to Gujarat.
At this time, Mahmud Khilji’s representative Taj Khan forwarded a proposal to Qutub -Ud – Din for the joint invasion of Gujarat and Malwa upon Mewar according to which, Gujarat would occupy the Southern part of Mewar and Malwa would occupy the rest of the part of Malwa as well as Ahirwara.
After an alliance to this context was made at a place named Champaner in 1456 CE, Qutb – Ud – Din occupied Abu and proceeded towards Chittor and on the other hand, Mahmud Khilji invaded Mewar from Malwa’s side. According to Firishta, Kumbha granted wealth to the invaders and sent them back, while according to Kirti Stambh Prashasti and Rasikpriya, Kumbha defeated both the Sultans. Due to his victory upon the Mughal rulers, Kumbha became renowned as Hindu Suratran (Sultan of the Hindus).
Cultural Achievements of Maharana Kumbha : Kumbha was not only a brave warrior, but also a lover of art and a scholastic ruler. Due to this, he is regarded to be “of a stable midset during the war.” According to Ekalinga Mahatamya, he excelled in Vedas, Smritis, Mimansar Upanishads, Vyakarn (grammar) politics and literature. Due to being a great musician, he is called Abhinav Bharatcharya and Veenavaadan Pravenen.”
According to the Kirti Stambh Prashasti, he excelled at playing Veena. Major texts were written by him include-Sangeet Raj, Sangeet Mimansa, Sangeet Kram Deepika and Sud Prabandh. There are five parts of Sangeet Raj Path Ratan Kosh, Geet Ratan Kosh, Vadhya Ratan Kosh, Nritya Ratan Kosh and Ras Ratan Kosh. He also wrote paraphrases of narration of Chandishatak, Jaidev’s musical composition Geet Govind and Sarangdev’s Sangeet the Ratnakar.
Kumbha composed four plays in Maharahstri (Marathi), Karnati (Kannada) and Mewari languages. His book named “Kamraja Ratisara” is divided into seven parts. Kumbha has been called “Rano Raso” (the protector). Kanha Vyas, the author of Ekalinga Mahatamya and famous architect Mandan were present in his court. Mandan wrote architectural books named Devamurti Prakarana (Rupavatara), Prasad Mandan, Raja Vallabha (Bhupati Vallabha), Rup Mandan, Vastu Mandan, Vastu Shastra, Vastukar etc.
Mandan’s brother Natha composed the book named vastu Manjari and his son Govind composed Udhjar Dhorini, Kalanidhi and Dwar Dwarika, Kalanidhi is based on the Shikhar Vidhan (structure of the pinnacles) of Devalayas which can be considered to be the only absolute book in context to the composition of the pinnacle and the organs and sub organs of the pinnacle. Kumbha’s daughter Ramabai has been called Vagiswari and she too is famous for her love for music.
Poet Meha was a prestigious composer during the reign of Kumbha. Out of his compositions, “Tirthmala” is very famous and it contains the description of 120 Pilgrimages. According to Kaviraaj Shyamaldar’s Composition “Veer Vinod” out of the 84 forts of Mewar, Maharana Kumbha alone had built 32 forts. The rampart of Kumbhalgarh fort built by Kumbha is 36 km long which is regarded as the world’s longest wall after the Great Wall of China.
The famous Jain temple of Ranakpur (Pali) was built during the reign of Maharana Kumbha by Dharanak Shah In the last days of his life, Kumbha suffered from anxiety and he spent most of his time in Kumbhalgarh fort itself. At the same place, he was assassinated by his son Uda in 1468 CE in greed of power.
Vijaya Stambha : Vijaya Stambha which is a nine story and 122 feet tall structure inside the Chittor fort was built by Maharana Kumbha in the memory of his victory upon Malwa’s Sultan Mahmud Khilji. Due to the artistic statues of numerous Hindu gods and goddesses engraved upon it, the Vijaya Stambha is called as the ‘Precious treasure of ancient Hindu Sculpture’. During the Indian national movement, the Vijaya Stambha had become the source of inspiration for the revolutionaries.
Question 2.
Describe the struggle between Maharana Sanga and Babur.
Answer:
Babur defeated Ibrahim Lodhi in the first battle of Panipat (1526 CE) and laid the foundation of Mughal Empire in India. Soon after struggle started between Babur and Sanga. Following were the main reasons for this :
1. Accusation of Sanga for not Keeping his Promise:
Babur has written in his autobiography “Tuzk-e-Babri’ that sanga sent an ambassador to me in Kabul and asked to invade Delhi and at the same time Sanga had promised to himself invade Agra but he did not adhere to his promise.” So conflict arose between them.
2. Clash of Ambitions:
After gaining victory over Ibrahim Lodhi, Babur wanted to occupy entire India. This was not possible without defeating ‘Hindupat (Hindu Chief) Sanga. Both of them being present in northern India was just like two swords present in a single sheath.
3. Rajput Afghan Friendship:
Although the Afghans were defeated in the first battle of Panipat yet they were making efforts to oust Babur from India. Considering Sanga perfect for this task, leaders of the Afgans-Hasan Khan Mewati and Mahmud Lodhi the brother of dead Sultan Ibrahim Lodhi-reached his haven. The Rajput Afghan blockade became the reason of terror for Babur. Finally he decided to eliminate the power of Sanga.
4. Sanga Occupying the Regions of the Sultanate:
Taking advantage of the maladministration resulting from the defeat of Ibrahim Lodhi in the battle of Panipat, Sanga occupied Khandar fort and the nearby 200 villages, due to which the Muslim families settled there were forced to. go away.’
Conflict between Babur and Maharana Sanga Realizing the possibility of future struggle, both the rulers started strengthening their respective position. In February 1527 CE, Sanga reached Bayana from Ranthambore, where at this time Mehndi Khwaja was appointed by Babur as the fort keeper. Sanga surrounded the fort due to which the condition of Mughal army present in the fort became miserable.
For the protection of Bayana, Babur sent an army under the leadership of Mohammad Sultan Mirza, but the Rajput army fought it out. Victory of Bayana was an important victory of Sanga against Babur. On one hand, Babur was busy in preparing for war, but he become concerned as he heard of the valour of Maharana, the Battle of Bayana and the stories of appreciation of the bravery of the Rajputs against Shah Mansoor Kismati and others who had returned from there.
Babur also sent a message of alliance through Salhadi Tanwar the Chieftain of Raisen. The Maharana talked to the Chieftains on this proposal, but the Chieftains did not accept the mediation of Salhadi. Therefore they expressed the strength of their army and the weakness of Babur and rejected the proposal of alliance. Taking advantage of the talks of alliance, Babur continued his preparations at war footing and reached the battlefield of Khanwa.
The battle started in the battlefield of Khanwa on 16th March 1527 CE. In the first fight, the Rajputs stood victorious but suddenly an arrow struck the head of Sanga and he was forced to leave the battlefield. For contination of the battle, the Chieftains now requested Rawat Ratan Singh Churawat of Salumbar to head the army.
Ratan Singh rejected this offer saying that his ancestors had left the state of Mewar, therefore he could can not assume the national symbol of the state for even a single moment, but he would fully support whoseover assume that national symbol and would fight against the enemy till he remained alive.
After this, Jhala Ajja was seated on an elephant and the battle was continued. The Rajputs decided to fight until their last breath but they could not sustain in front of Babur’s army and had to face defeat. After gaining victory, Babur attained the title of Gazi and as a symbol of victory, he built a minaret of the heads of Rajput soldiers.
Reasons for defeat of Sanga:
1. Postponing the battle for an extended time proved to be a big mistake of Maharana. Various chieftains of the Maharana did not participate in this battle due to the spirit of patriotism. Due to talks of alliance continuing for extended time period, they did not have the required spark and zeal in context to the battle which they earlier had at the time of proceeding for the battle.
2. The Rajput Soldiers were fighting with traditional weapons. They could not face the shells blowing out of Babur’s cannons with their bows and arrows, spears and swords.
3. Sanga made another big mistake by sitting on an elephant because due to this the enemy got opportunity to injure him by exactly pointing towards him. As he went away the injured from the battlefield, the morale of his army declined.
4. There was lack of unity and coordination in the Rajput army because the entire army was organised under the leadership of different chieftains.
5. Due to its momentum, the horse army of Babur dominated the elephant army of the Rajputs. As the elephants were terrified due to the blow of shells from Babur’s cannons, they provided great loss by crushing their own armymen.
Result of the battle of Khanwa:
- The sovereignty of the Rajputs ended in India. The glorious sun of the Rajputs which was dazzling in the high sky above the people now started setting down.
- The Rajpuț organisation which was built due to the prestige and power of Mewar ended with this defeat.
- Mughal Empire was established in India and Babur became the permanent Emperor of India.
Question 3.
Throw light on the character and achievements of Durgadas Rathore.
Answer:
Durgadas was born in 1638 CE in Salwa Village. He was the son of the third wife of Askaran who was in service of Maharaja Jaswant Singh of Jodhpur. Askaran had been given the Jagir of Salwa in Marwar and with lapse of time after Muhnrot Nancy, he was also appointed the Prime Minister of Marwar.
In 1667 CE Durgadas was granted five villages namely Jhanwar, Samdari, Jagisa Kothdi, Amba-ro-vadą and Amarsar, which had an annual income of 12,000 rupees. With lapse of time, Jaswant Singh also granted Raimal Balo, Jawan Desar and Bhamsen villages of Marwar, alongwith Lunod village of Rohtak Pargana to Durgadas in the form of Jagir.
Achievements of Durgadas Rathore:
(a) Establishment of Royal Control upon Jodhpur: A situation of conflict usually continued to exist between Maharaja Jaswant Singh and Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. Due to this reason, Aurangzeb appointed Jaswant Singh at the station situated in Jamrud (Afghanistan) which was located quite for away from Marwar. In 1678 CE, As Aurangzeb heard about the news of death of Jaswant Singh in Jamrud, he suddenly said – “Today the barrier of opposition has broken”.
Then Aurangzeb declared Jodhpur as the Khalsa and appointed Tahir Khan as Fauzdar, Khidmatgujar Khan as fort keeper, Sher Anwar as ameen and Abdul Rahim as Kotwal for the purpose of management. On 26th May 1679 CE, Aurangzeb granted the state of Jodhpur the kingdom of Jodhpur to king Indra Singh. Rathore tried to get Jodhpur till last.
Protection of Ajit Singh :
After the death of Jaswant Singh, the Rathore Chieftains took both his pregnent queens along and proceeded from Jamrud, but as they did not possess the royal order, the officers stopped them at Atak River. The Rathore group resisted these officers and crossed river Atak. On that place, both the queens gave birth to their two sons Ajit Singh and Dalthamban respectively at an interval of half an hour on 19th February 1679 CE.
By royal order, the two sons were taken away from there to Delhi. Noticing the deceitful intentions of the Emperor, Rathore Ranchhor Das, Bhati Raghunath, Rathore Rup Singh, Rathore Durgadas and other chieftains decided that there was no use staying there and dying, because if they remained alive, they would struggle and occupy Jodhpur.
When the Rathore chieftains started moving out of Delhi one after the other, Aurangzeb started levying more atrocities towards the royal family, witnessing their weakening power. He ordered the Kotwal Faulad Khan to remove the Rathore queens and princesses from the mansion and send them to Nurgarh. When the Emperor got the news of the princes fleeing away, he ordered his soldiers to follow them. On the way, Durgadas stopped the royal army from moving ahead, due to which Ajit Singh was able to reach Jodhpur safely.
Rathore – Sisodiya Alliance :
The Marwar chieftains reached Jodhpur alongwith Ajit Singh, but as Jodhpur had been occupied by the royal army, they became concerned about the security of Ajit Singh. Due to this, child Ajit Singh was sent to kalindi (Sirohi) on advice of his stepmother Dewraji. Here, he was kept under the guardianship of Pushkarana Brahmin Jaidev, and for the purpose of his security, Mukund Das Khinchi was appointed secretly.
Maharaja Jaswant Singh’s eldest queen Rani Jaswantde was the daughter of Bundi’s Rao Chhatrasal. Her half-sister Kanan Kumari was married to Maharana Raj Singh. Due to this, Durgadas sent a request to Maharana Raj Singh through Kanan Kumari to provide protection to Ajit Singh.
The issue of security of Mewar was also associated with the entire incident. Due to this, Raj Singh accepted the request and granted the lease of Kelve alongwith twelve villages to Ajit Singh. When Aurangzeb came to know about this all, he sent an order to the Maharana demanding Ajit Singh’s custody, but the Maharana did not pay head to this.
Revolt of Prince Akbar:
Durgadas got associated with Maharana Tej Singh and tried to oppose Prince Muazzam against the Emperor, but due to the advice given by his mother Nawab Bai, Muazzam did not accept this plan. After this, they tried to take Prince Akbar in their favour. Although, in the same period, Maharana Raj Singh died in October, 1680 CE yet this talk continued with the new Maharana also.
As a consequence, Akbar declared himself the Emperor on Ist January, 1681 CE in Nadol and proceeded towards Ajmer alongwith the Rajput army to oppose Aurangzeb. The army of Aurangzeb had camped at a place called Daurai situated near Ajmer. On 15th January, Aurangzeb resorted to deception and called Akbar’s Chief commander Tehwwar Khan (the fauzdar of Ajmer who had left Aurangzeb and joined Akbar) through his father in law.
Inayat Khan wrote a letter of this implication that if he came, his crime would be forgiven, otherwise his women would be offended in front of all and his children would be sold off at the price of stray dogs in the form of slaves. Due to this threat, when Tehwwar Khan reached him, without informing Akbar and Durgadas who were sleeping at that time, the royal servant killed him. After this Aurangzeb played another card to create strife between Akbar and the Rajputs.
He wrote a fake letter addressed to Akbar of this implication that he had excessively betrayed the Rajputs. Now it was required that he retained them in Harawal, so that the next day, in the morning they could be attacked upon from both the sides. Somehow this letter was sent near the encampment of Durgadas, and as he read all this, his mind became deviated.
Durgadas immediately went to the encampment of Akbar but as it was midnight, there was an order not to disturb Akbar’s sleep at any cost. After this, when he sent his men to call Tehwwar Khan, he found that he had gone away to the Emperor. At such time, his suspicion transformed into belief and even before dawn, the Rajput army looted the wealth of Akbar and went away towards Marwar.
In the morning when Akbar found himself isolated, he ran after the Rajputs. For two days, he continued to run without any support, to save his life. When Durgadas came to know about the deceit of Aurangzeb, he himself accompanied Akbar and carried him safely to the Maratha State.
Effort to Kill Durgadas:
Terrified from the possibility of a revolt in Jodhpur, Aurangzeb wrote to Prince Azam in 1701 CE, saying that he should make effort either to send Durgadas in royal service or kill him. Azam tried to capture Durgadas deceitfully, but as Durgadas had prior suspicion of this incident, he fled away. After reaching Marwar, Durgadas started opposing openly in Mughal regions.
Conflict between Maharaja Ajit Singh and Durgadas: The greatest credit of saving child Ajit Singh from the claws of Aurangzeb goes to Durgadas. After getting him out safely from Delhi, he was kept at a secret place as per the plan of Durgadas himself.
After returning from the South in April 1687 CE, Durgadas was disappointed to know that even after his directions, Ajit Singh had been brought out of the secret place and made to stay in public in Paldi Village (Sirohi) on 23rd March 1687 CE even before Durgadas could return to Marwar.
By this time, the Rathore feudal lords who were unhappy with Durgadas had gathered around Ajit Singh. Now the condition of Durgadas changed and he was no more the centralized power that would decide the fate of Ajit Singh. Due to this, he decided to maintain distance while realizing the changed circumstances.
In October 1687 CE, Ajit Singh conducted a meeting with Durgadas in Bhimarlai village and removed all the doubts and confusions. After getting the news of the death of Aurangzeb in 1707 CE, Ajit Singh ousted nayab Faujdar Zafar Quli of Jodhpur and occupied his paternal state. This invasion was so sudden that some Muslims who were present in the fort had to save their lives by running away in the guise of Hindus.
It has been mentioned in ‘Jodhpur Ki Khyať that after the victory upon sambhar (3rd Oct 1780 CE), due to the presence of other compoments there, Durgadas established his separate encampment alongwith his army. The Maharaja urged him to encamp in Misal (the line of the chieftains) but he answered that then he was short lived and people who followed him would emcamp in Misal.
Disturbed by the behaviour of Ajit Singh, Durgadas went in the service of Mewar’s Maharana Amar Singh II and did not return to Jodhpur even after being called. Ajit Singh publicly offened Raghunath Sanchor who had protected the children of Akbar in the guardianship of Durgadas by lashing him and forced him to starve by keeping him imprisoned without food and water (October 1707 CE). In July 1708 CE, he got his Chief Minister Mukund Das champavat and his brothers Raghunath Champavat assassinated.
Conclusive Time :
Maharana Amar Singh II granted Durgadas the Jagir of Vijaypur and retained him with him and fixed an amount of rupees. Five Hundred daily for him Later he was appointed the Hakim of Rampura where he died in Ujjain on 22nd Nov. 1718 CE. His final rites were performed on the banks of river shipra where his chhatri exists even today.
Evaluation :
During the battle of succession among the sons of Shah Jahan, Durgadas had participated in the battle of Dharmat alongwith Maharaja Jaswant Singh. In Ratan Raso written by the contemporary writer Kumbhkarna Sandu, who was in contact with Durgadas. the bravery of Durgadas during the battle has been described.
Durgadas was a skilled diplomat. He not only provided protection to Ajit Singh but also enthroned him on the throne of Jodhpur. For this he not only made Rathore – Sisodia alliance by the support of Mewar’s Maharana Raj Singh, but he also inspired prince Akbar to revolt against the Emperor. Keeping Akbar’s son Buland Akhtar and daughter Safiyat un Nissa along with him, Durgadas not only carried on his friendship but also gave the proof of his religious philosophy “Sarvapanth Samadar”.
He arranged for the bringing up and education of both these children in exactly the way it is required for a follower of sunni sect. When he got the opportunity, he respectfully sent them back to the Emperor, Due to these heroic qualities, Durgadas won the heart of a stone hearted person such as Aurangzeb and acquired Mansab. Colonel James Fodd has addressed him as “The Ulises of Rathores”.
Question 4.
Mention the reasons of invasion of Alauddin Khilji upon Chittor and write the story of Padmini in your own words.
Answer:
After the death of Rawal Samar Singh (1273-1302 CE), his son Ratan Singh ascended the throne of Mewar in 1302 CE. Ratan Singh got the opportunity to rule only for one year which is famous for the invasion of Alauddin Khilji upon Chittor.
The Reasons for invasion of Alauddin Khilji upon Chittor: Following were the major reasons for invasions.
1. Imperialistic Ambition of Alauddin Khilji:
Alauddin Khilji was an ambitious and imperialistic ruler. Just like Alexander, he wished to conquer the entire world, whose proof is his title ‘Sikandar Sani’ (Second Alexander). In order to make the conquest of south India and his occupancy on north India permanent, it was essential for him to conquer the Rajput Kingdoms. His invasion upon Chittor was part of the same policy.
2. Increasing Power of Mewar:
During the reign of strong rulers such as Jaitra Singh, Tej Singh and Samar Singh, the frontier of Chittor was continuously expanding. Sultans such as Iltutmish, Nasiruddin Mahmud and Balban made efforts to check this ever increasing power, but they remained unsuccessful.
In 1299 CE, Rawal Samar Singh of Mewar not only resisted from providing assitance to the royal army which was proceeding ahead for Gujarat Campaign, but also allowed it to proceed ahead only after collecting fine from the army. Alauddin Khilji could not forget this offensive incident.
3. Geographical and Military Importance of Chittor:
The major road which proceeded from Delhi to Malwa, Gujrat and Southern India passed through near Chittor. Due to this reason, it was essential for Alauddin Khilji to occupy Chittor in order to maintain political
sovereignty upon Malwa, Gujrat and Southern India. Chittor fort which was built by Mauryan ruler Chitrangad had remained invincible and no Muslim invader had been successful in conquering it till this time. This was also a big challenge for Alauddin Khilji.
4. The Desire to Occupy Padmini:
According to some historians, Alauddin Khilji wished to occupy Mewar ruler Ratan Singh’s beautiful wife Padmini. He sent this message to Ratan Singh that if he wanted to save himself from severe destruction, he should send his wife Padmini to the Royal Harem. When Ratan Singh rejected this proposal, Alauddin invaded upon Chittor. According to Malik Muhammad Jayasi’s Padmavat, the major reason of this invasion was to occupy Padmini.
Invasion of Alauddin Khilji:
On 28th January 1303 CE, Alauddin Khilji proceeded from Delhi and surrounded Chittor. Ratan Singh gave a violent answer to the royal army, due to which even after two continuous months of enclosure, the royal army could not become successful. In such condition, the Sultan was forced to amend his strategy.
He built tall platforms near the wall of the fort and installed “Manjanakas” (Harpoons) on them. The walls of the fort were stoned heavily, and the invincible walls were not affected a bit. Due to the lengthy enclosure, the food material stored in the fort started to end. Witnessing the signs of destruction all around, the Rajput soldiers opened the gate of the fort and started fighting against the Muslim army.
In this violent struggle, Ratan Singh received martyrdom and on the other hand, first Jauhar of Chittor was performed under the leadership of Padmini In this way, Alauddin Khilji occupied Chittor on 26th August 1303 CE. The next day Sultan ordered his soldiers for mass killing of the resisdents. Amir Khusrau, who was present during this compaign wrote in his composition ‘Khazain – ul – Futuh’ (Tarikhi Ilahi) that in a single day around 30,000 helpless people were put to death.
Alauddin Khilji changed the name of Chittor to ‘Khizrabad’ and handed its administration to his son Khizr Khan and returned to Delhi. Khizr Khan built a bridge on river Gambhiri. He also built a tomb in the foothill of Chittor, on which a Persian inscription which is installed depicts Alauddin Khilji as the blessing of God and the protector of the world.
The Story of Padmini:
A King named Gandharva Sen was present in Sinhala Dweep (Sri Lanka). His queen consort champavati gave birth to a very beautiful girl named Padmavati. She had a cute and clever parrot named Hiraman. One day he flew away from his cage and reached a Brahmin. That Brahmin sold the parrots to Chittor ruler Ratan Singh for one lakh rupees.
One day Ratan Singh’s queen put make up and asked the parrot, “Is there any other beautiful woman in the world as I am?” On this, the parrot answered that the pond in which no swan has ever visited in such a pond a heron is assumed to be the swan. Ratan Singh was enchanted when he heard about the appreciation of beauty qualities etc. of Padmini from the parrot and went towards Sinhala along with the parrot in the guise of a yogi.
After facing innumerable difficulties he reached Sinhala Dweep. In front of Padmini, the Parrot appreciated the physique, clan, authority, energy etc. of Ratan Singh and further added that he is the only eligible husband and he has reached here enchanted with your love.
On the day of Basant Panchmi, she went to the temple in which Ratan Singh was staying. As soon as they both saw each other, they fell in love. Finally Gandharva Sen enquired about his clan etc. and got both of them married. After getting married, Ratan Singh returned to his capital chittor along with Padmini.
Raghav Chetan who was ousted by Ratan Singh from Mewar went to Delhi to avenge his insult and appreciated the beauty of Padmini in front of Sultan Alauddin and induced him to invade Chittor. Due to this, Alauddin Khilji proceeded to occupy Chittor. Even after eight years of enclosure when the Sultan remained unsuccessful in occupying Chittor he proposed that even if he could be able to see the reflection of Padmini, he would return back to Delhi.
Rana accepted his proposal but as Alauddin was returning after witnessing the reflection of Padmini, he imprisoned Ratan Singh and demanded Padmini in exchange of his release. After knowing about the entire incident, Padmini made a plan to get Rana released and sent a proposal to Alauddin to visit him alongwith her 1600 female friends. As the proposal was accepted.
Padmini Proeeded alongwith Rajput Soldiers instead of female friends who were seated in the palanquins. After getting included in the royal harem, she expressed her last wish to meet her husband for one last time, which was allowed by the Sultan. When both, husband and wife were meeting, just then the Rajput soldiers rushed upon the Sultan’s army and took away both of them safely to proceed towards Chittor.
When Alauddin came to know about the treason, he followed the Rajputs alongwith his soldiers. Ratan Singh was killed alongwith his army chiefs Gora and Badal and Padmini performed Johar. The story of Padmini, has been historically described by Malik Muhammad Jayasi in his composition ‘Padmavat.
After this the same story has been repeated alongwith some amendments in Akbarnama, Gulshan-e-Ibrahimi, Jafrulvali, Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, stereo de Magore and Nancy ri Khyat. Famous poet Suryamall Misan of Bundi and Various modern historians have not accepted the historicity of the story of Padmini.
Question 5.
Evaluate the opposition of the Mughals done by Maharana Pratap.
Answer:
Initial life and Coronation of Maharana Pratap: Maharana Pratap was born on 9th may 1540 CE, in Kumbhalgarh fort. He was the eldest son of Mewar’s Maharana Udai Singh and Jaiwanta Bai. However Dheer Kanwar was another queen of Udai Singh. After the death of Udai Singh, Jagmal (Son of Dheer Kanwar) declared himself as the Maharana of Mewar, but the feudal lords supported Pratap and enthroned him on Mewar.
In this way on the day of Holi festival, coronation of Maharana Pratap was done on 28th Feb. 1572 CE in Gogunda. At the time of the coronation of Maharana Pratap the condition of Mewar was very bad. Due to remaining engaged in extended battles with the Mughals the political social and economic system of Mewar had deteriorated. Alongwith Chittor, most of the parts of Mewar had been occupied by the Mughals and Akbar wished to occupy the rest of the regions also.
After becoming the ruler, Pratap did not accept the sovereignty of Akbar contrary to other provinces such as Amer, Bikaner and Jaisalmer, rather he chose to give importance to the independence of his motherland and adhering to the prestige of his clan. He chose to fight against the Mughals.
With self confidence alongwith the assistance of the patriotic chieftains and the tribals, he organized a powerful army, and in order to prepare for war while staying quite far away from the Mughals, he shifted his capital from Gogunda to Kumbhalgarh. Akbar started getting the news of Pratap making efforts against his rule in Mewar state.
Finally Akbar took the initiative and right from the year of coronation of Pratap, he sent four ambassadorsone after the other to force Pratap to accept his sovereignty. But Pratap did not accept the sovereignty of Akbar at any cost. Battle of Haldighati : In order to give the plan of attack on Mewar a functional form, Akbar himself reached Ajmer in March 1576 CE.
At the same place, he declared Man Singh as the leader of the army which was to be sent to invade Mewar. On 3rd April 1576 CE, Man Singh proceeded to invade Mewar alongwith the army. This was the first instance in Mughal history that a Hindu was made the leader of such a massive army.
The Muslim courtesans became angry as a Hindu was made the Chief commander of the Mughal army Man Singh established his camp in Molela near Banas River and Pratap established his camp in losing village which was six miles away. Syed Hashim was leading the Harawal (the foremost front part of the army). Muhammad Badkhshi Rafi, Raja Jagannath and Asaf Khan were accompanying him.
There were two parts of Pratap’s army. Hakeem Khan Suri, Ram Shah of Gwalior alongwith his two sons Purohit Gopinath, Shankardar, Charas Jaisa, Purohit Jagannath, Churawat Krishnadas of Salumbar, Bhim Singh of Sardargarh Rawat Sanga of Deogarh, Ramdas the Son of Jaimal Medatia and others were included in the Harawal part of Pratap’s army.
The second part was led by the Maharana himself and Bhamashah and his brother Tarachand were accompanying him. On 18th June 1576 in the morning Pratap decided to confront the army which was coming towards Gogunda in Haldighati and proceeded from losing. In the initial stage of the battle, Rana forwarded his elephant Luna to dismantle the morale of Mughal army and this attack was confronted by Mughal elephant Gajmukh.
Gajmukh was injured and was about to flee, just then the Mahaot of Luna became injured due to the blow of an arrow and Luna started to move back. Due to this, Maharana was forced to forward the renowned elephant Ramprasad in the battlefield. The battle started alongwith a severe attack from the side of Harawal army of Pratap.
The Soldiers of Mewar became successful in distructing the front line and left back part of the Mughal army through their rapid attack and courageous warfare strategy. During the battle, syed Hashim fell down from the horse and Asaf Khan moved back and took refuge in the central part of Mughal army. In chandawal of Mughal army a reserve force of soldiers was arranged under the leadership of Mihattar Khan for any situation of emergency.
Noticing his army running away, Mihattar Khan screamed and came forward, declaring “that the emperor himself was coming alongwith a massive army.” After listening to this the situation changed and the fleeing Mughal army returned back with a new Vigor and Zeal. Rana Pratap was fighting seated on his famous horse ‘Chetak’ and Man Singh was seated on an elephant named ‘Mardana’.
It has been mentioned in the Sanskrit text ‘Amar Kavya’ composed by Ranchor Bhatt that Pratap came with extreme force and put the front legs of chetak on the head of the elephant and attacked Man Singh with his spear. Man Singh saved himself by bowing down in the Hauda, but the Mahaot died. In this attack one of the front legs of Chetak was cut off by the sword which was attached to the trunk of the elephant of Man Singh.
Seeing Pratap to be in distress, Jhala Beeda of Badi Sadri himself attained the state flag and continued the battle and Pratap divërted the battle towards the hills. Chetak died at a place named Balicha near Haldighati where his platform exists even today.
In the battle of Haldighati, Jhala Beeda, Man Singh Songara Jaimal Medhatia’s son Ramdas, Ram Shah and his three sonsShalivahan, Bhavani Singh and Pratap Singh died while fighting bravely from the side of Pratap. The major chieftains who were able to sustain their life in the battle field included Rawat Krishnadas Churawat of Salumbar, Gopaldas of Ghanerao, Bhamashah, Tarachand and Others.
When the battle was at its extreme, Pratap Changed the situation of war. He diverted the battle towards the hills. Man Singh did not follow the army of Mewar, Badauni has given three reasons for the Mughals, not following the army of Pratap:
- The scorching heat of the month of June.
- Incapability of the Mughal army to fight due to it being excessively tired.
- The Mughals feared that Pratap was waiting in the hills and if he made a sudden attack then the lives of most of the Mughals soldiers would fall into danger.
In this way as per his wish Akbar was neither able to catch Pratap alive or kill him nor could he destroy the military power of Mewar. This military compaign of Akbar remained a failure and the result went in favour of Maharana Pratap. Being desperate by the result of the battle, Akbar stopped the ‘dyori’ of Man Singh and Asaf Khan, i.e. he imposed ban on their participation in the court.
The pride of massive resourceful army of Akbar was destroyed by the army of Mewar. At the time when the kings of Rajasthan were competing to establish marital relations with the Mughals and accept their sovereignty. Pratap adopted the path of independence, which was a very commendable act on his part.
RBSE Class 12 History Chapter 4 Other importent Questions
RBSE Class 12 History Chapter 4 Multiple Choice Questions
Question 1.
When did Prophet Hazrat Muhammad die?
(a) 622 CE
(b) 712 CE
(c) 711 CE
(d) 632 CE
Answer:
(d) 632 CE
Question 2.
Arab invasion on India occured in:
(a) 711 CE
(b) 712 CE
(c) 713 CE
(d) 636 CE
Answer:
(b) 712 CE
Question 3.
Who was the ruler of Sindh during the Arab invasion ?
(a) Dahir Sen
(b) Abdulla
(c) Vatsraj
(d) Hazzaz
Answer:
(a) Dahir Sen
Question 4.
After which conquest did Kasim name that place ‘Swarna Nagar’?
(a) Aror conquest
(b) Sindh conquest
(c) Neerun conquest
(d) Multan conquest
Answer:
(b) Sindh conquest
Question 5.
Which dynasty was founded by Nagbhatt?
(a) Pal dynasty
(b) Gurjar Pratihar dynasty
(c) Chandel dynasty
(d) Chahman dynasty
Answer:
(b) Gurjar Pratihar dynasty
Question 6.
When did Nagbhatt II ascend the throne ?
(a) 780 CE
(b) 785 CE
(c) 790 CE
(d) 795 CE
Answer:
(d) 795 CE
Question 7.
Which ruler of Gurjar Pratihar dynasty attempted suicide in Ganga river ?
(a) Mihir Bhoj
(b) Vatsraj
(c) Nagbhatt – II
(d) Nagbhatt – I
Answer:
(c) Nagbhatt – II
Question 8.
Name the ruler who founded the rule of Pratihar dynasty of Bheenmal:
(a) Nagbhatt – I
(b) Vatsraj
(c) Devraj
(d) Dharmpal
Answer:
(a) Nagbhatt – I
Question 9.
Name the Pratihar ruler who curshed many Arab invasions :
(a) Nagbhatt – I
(b) Vatsraj
(c) Nagbhatt – II
(d) Mihir Bhoj – I
Answer:
(d) Mihir Bhoj-I
Question 10.
In the famous book ‘Ekalinga Mahatmya’ Bappa Rawal is described as:
(a) Suryavanshi
(b) Chandravanshi
(c) Yaduvanshi
(d) Brahmin
Answer:
(d) Brahmin
Question 11.
Who defeated Nagbhatt – II ?
(a) Chakkrayudhh the ruler of Kannauj
(b) Dharmpal the ruler of Bengal
(c) Govind – III
(d) Mihir Bhoj -I
Answer:
(c) Govind -III
Question 12.
The main military achievement of Gurjar Pratihar rulers was:
(a) They established political unity in northern India after Harsha
(b) They founded a vast Empire
(c) They did not allow to move forward the Muslims of Sindh
(d) They gained many military achievements in tripartite struggle
Answer:
(c) They did not allow to move forward the Muslims of Sindh
Question 13.
Which title was assumed by Bappa Rawal after the Chittor conquest:
(a) Hindu Surya
(b) Rajguru
(c) Chhakkavey
(d) All of these
Answer:
(d) All of these
Question 14.
Name the Historian who compared Bappa Rawal as Charles Mortel:
(a) Gopinath Sharma
(b) C. V. Vaidya
(c) G. S. Oos
(d) V. S. Bhargav
Answer:
(b) C. V. Vaidya
Question 15.
When did Mahmud Gaznavi invade upon Somnath ?
(a) 1020 CE
(b) 1018 CE
(c) 1022 CE
(d) 1025 CE
Answer:
(d) 1025 CE
Question 16.
Name the ruler who gained popularity from the title ‘Rai Pithaura’:
(a) Someshwar
(b) Arnoraj
(c) Prithviraj – III
(d) Vigrahraj – IV
Answer:
(c) Prithviraj – III
Question 17.
The main objective of the conquest policy of Prithviraj Chauhan was:
(a) To get free from the opposition of kin
(b) To supress the neighbouring states
(c) To face the foreign enemies
(d) All of these
Answer:
(d) All of these
Question 18.
Prithviraj conquered Mahoba in:
(a) 1180 CE
(b) 1182 CE
(c) 1183 CE
(d) 1190 CE
Answer:
(b) 1182 CE
Question 19.
In Hammir Mahakavya Chahmanas are described as:
(a) Suryavanshi
(b) Yaduvanshi
(c) Chandravanshi
(d) Rajvanshi
Answer:
(a) Suryavanshi
Question 20.
When was the second battle of Tarain fought ?
(a) 1190 CE
(b) 1191 CE
(c) 1192 CE
(d) 1194 CE
Answer:
(c) 1192 CE
Question 21.
Who was the court scholar of Prithviraj – III ?
(a) Vidyapati Gaur
(b) Bagiswar
(c) Janardan
(d) Jainayak
Answer:
(d) Jainayak
Question 22.
Who composed “Prithviraj Raso” ?
(a) Aashadhar
(b)Jainayak
(c) Vishvarup
(d) Chandarbardai
Answer:
(d) Chandarbardai
Question 23.
What was the main reason of struggle between Prithviraj and Muhammad Gauri?
(a) Desire to get wealth
(b) Politics
(c) Establishment of Vast Empire
(d) All of these
Answer:
(d) All of these
Question 24.
The main reason of Khilji’s invasion on Chittor:
(a) Alauddin was an amibitious ruler
(b) Desire to occupy Padmini, the beautiful wife of Ratan Singh
(c) Desire to occupy the ways of Malwa, Gujrat and South India which lie in Chittor
(d) To maintain the parmenent control over all India
Answer:
(b) Desire to occupy Padmini, the beautiful wife of Ratan Singh
Question 25.
Who was the ruler of Mewar during Khilji’s invasion on Chittor ?
(a) Hammir
(b) Jai Singh
(c) Ratan Singh
(d) Kumbha
Answer:
(c) Ratan Singh
Question 26.
In which composition is the description about the conquests and achievements of Hammir found ?
(a) Hammir Mahakavya
(b) Veer Vinod
(c) Nancy-Ri-Khyat
(d) Kannahan-de-Prabandh
Answer:
(a) Hammir Mahakavya
Question 27.
Who is the writer of ‘Padmavať?
(a) Rakshan
(b) Abdurrahim
(c) Abdul Fazl
(d) Malik Muhammad Jayasi
Answer:
(d) Malik Muhammad Jayasi
Question 28.
Name the composition of Nyanchand Suri which describes the boldness and conquest of Hammir:
(a) Hammir Mahakavya
(b) Surgan Charitra
(c) Hammir Math
(d) Hammir Raso
Answer:
(a) Hammir Mahakavya
Question 29.
Who is the writer of ‘Eklinga Mahatmya”?
(a) Mandan
(b) Poet Atri and Mahesh
(c) Kanh Vyas
(d) Govind the son of Mandan
Answer:
(c) Kanh Vyas
Question 30.
Which ruler of Rajasthan was called as ‘Abhinav Bharatacharya’:
(a) Prithviraj Chauhan
(b) Maharana Kumbha
(c) Sawai Jai Singh
(d) Maharaja Mansingh
Answer:
(b) Maharana Kumbha
Question 31.
The Kirti Stambha of Chittor was built by:
(a) Hammir
(b) Rana Kumbha
(c) Prithviraj Chauhan
(d) Rana Sanga
Answer:
(b) Rana Kumbha
Question 32.
The description of the cultural achievements of Maharana Kumbha is found on:
(a) Persian Tawarikh
(b) Ekalinga Mahatmya
(c) Kumbhalgarh Prashasti (1460 CE)
(d) Kirti Stambha
Answer:
(d) Kirti Stambha
Question 33.
The area which is famous by the name ‘Khinchi Vada’ is :
(a) Gagron
(b) Ajmer
(c) Mandal Garh
(d) Malwa
Answer:
(a) Gagron
Question 34.
According to Poet Shymaldas, how many forts were built in Mewar by Kumbha ?
(a) 84 Forts
(b) 32 Forts
(c) 60 Forts
(d) 40 Forts
Answer:
(b) 32 Forts
Question 35.
The largest temple of the reign of Kumbha:
(a) Ranakpur
(b) Temple of Kumbh Shyam
(c) Temple of Eklinga
(d) Jain temple of Delwada
Answer:
(a) Ranakpur
Question 36.
Who was the composer of ‘Geet Govind’?
(a) Maharana Kumbha
(b)Jaidev
(c) Kulhad
(d) Jayanak
Answer:
(b)Jaidev
Question 37.
The main reason for the defeat of Rana Sanga in the battle of Khanwa:
(a) Babur’s Tuluguma system in his army
(b) Weak army of Rana Sanga
(c) Lack of war teachnique in Rana Sanga
(d) Sanga’s head got hurt by an arrow suddenly
Answer:
(a) Babur’s Tuluguma system in his army
Question 38.
Name the ruler who is known as ‘Hindu Surtrana’ or ‘Hindupati’:
(a) Maharana Udai Singh
(b) Maharana Sanga
(c) Maharana Kumbha
(d) Maharana Pratap
Answer:
(b) Maharana Sanga
Question 39.
The battle fought between Maharana Sanga and Ibrahim Lodhi :
(a) Battle of Panipat
(b) Battle of Khanwa
(c) Battle of Khatoli
(d) Battle of Chanderi
Answer:
(c) Battle of Khatoli
Question 40.
The main reason of Akbar’s invasion on Jodhpur, the kingdom of Chandrasen :
(a) Rao Chandresen gave challenge to Akbar
(b) Rao Chandrasen occupied the Mughal territories
(c) Akbar wanted to give Jodhpur Kingdom to Ram, the brother of Chandrasen
(d) Akbar wanted to complete the conquest of Marwar by conquering Jodhpur fort
Answer:
(d) Akbar wanted to complete the conquest of Marwar by conquering Jodhpur fort
Question 41.
What was the main purpose of Ras Chandrasen behind reaching Nagaur Court?
(a) To accept the sovereignty of Akbar
(b) To regain his kingdom
(c) To send his son in imperial service
(d) To find out the weakness of Mughals
Answer:
(b) To regain his kingdom
Question 42.
Who is known as ‘forgotten hero of Marwar’ ?
(a) Ajit Singh
(b) Durgadas
(c) Chandrasen
(d) Udai Singh
Answer:
(c) Chandrasen
Question 43.
Who was the commander of the foremost front part of the army of Pratap ?
(a) Pratap
(b) Amar Singh
(c) Hakim Khan
(d) Jhala Man Singh
Answer:
(c) Hakim Khan
Question 44.
The Battle of Haldighati was fought in :
(a) 1707 CE
(b) 1576 CE
(c) 1556 CE
(d) 1530 CE
Answer:
(b) 1576 CE
Question 45.
The main reason for the defeat of Maharana Pratap in the battle of Haldighati:
(a) Traditional war system of Pratap
(b) Weak army of Rana Pratap
(c) Running away of Rana Pratap from the battlefield
(d) Cooperation of Rajput rulers to Akbar
Answer:
(a) Traditional war system of Pratap
Question 46.
Which term is used by Cornel Todd for the battle of Haldighati:
(a) The battle of Khamnor
(b) Thermopalli of Mewar
(c) The battle of Gogunda
(d) Battle of Panipat
Answer:
(b) Thermopalli of Mewar
Question 47.
Akbar sent four ambassadors one after the other to force Pratap to accept his sovereignty. Who was the second ambassador of Akbar ?
(a) Jalal Khan
(b) Mansingh
(c) Bhagwant Das
(d) Todarmal
Answer:
(b) Mansingh
Question 48.
When did Maharana Pratap die?
(a) 1576 CE
(b) 1580 CE.
(c) 1585 CE
(d) 1597 CE
Answer:
(d) 1597 CE
Question 49.
When did Maharana Pratap ascend the throne ?
(a) 1572 CE
(b) 1575 CE
(c) 1676 CE
(d) 1580 CE
Answer:
(a) 1572 CE
Question 50.
What was the name of the elephant of Maharana Pratap ?
(a) Luna
(b) Ram Prasad
(c) Gaj Mukta
(d) Mahawat
Answer:
(b) Ram Prasad
Question 51.
The compositions of Chakrapani :
(a) Rajyabhishek Paddhati
(b) Muhurtmala
(c) Vishva Ballabh
(d) All of these
Answer:
(d) All of these
Question 52.
The village where Durgadas spent his childhood :
(a) Salwa
(b) Bhimaralai
(c) Lunwa
(d) Sachimich
Answer:
(a) Salwa
Question 53.
Who kept baby Prince Ajit Singh in Sirohi :
(a) Mukundas Khinchi
(b) Rathore Mohkam Singh
(c) Veer Sonam Champavat
(d) Pushkarna Brahmin Jaidev
Answer:
(d) Pushkarna Brahmin Jaidev
Question 54.
Who was the ruler of Maharashtra during the southern travel of Durgadas and Prince Akbar:
(a) Shivaji
(b) Shambhaji
(c) Shahu
(d) Rajaram
Answer:
(b) Shambhaji
Question 55.
The famous book which has description of the boldness of Durgadas :
(a) Prithviraj Raso
(b) Vigrah Raso
(c) Ratan Raso
(d) Padamcharit
Answer:
(c) Ratan Raso
Question 56.
Who was known as ‘Ulises of Rathores’?
(a) Ajit Singh
(b) Durgadas
(c) Jaswant Singh
(d) Jai Singh
Answer:
(b) Durgadas
Question 57.
When was Shivaji born ?
(a) 1625 CE
(b) 1626 CE
(c) 1627 CE
(d) 1628 CE
Answer:
(c) 1627 CE
Question 58.
Which title was assumed by Shivaji :
(a) Chhatrapati
(b) Hindu Dharmoddharak
(c) Brahmin Pratipalak
(d) All of these
Answer:
(d) All of these
Question 59.
The festival which was started by Bal Gangadhar Tilak:
(a) Deepotsava
(b) Jalabhishek Utsav
(c) Shivaji Utsav
(d) None of these
Answer:
(c) Shivaji Utsav
Question 60.
The beginning of the rule of Peshwas from :
(a) Balaji Vishvanath
(b) Jalabhishek Utsav
(c) Bajirav – II
(d) Bahadur – I
Answer:
(a) Balaji Vishvanath
Question 61.
When was the treaty of Mungi Shivgaon signed ?
(a) March 1728 CE
(b) May 1628 CE
(c) April 1774 CE
(d) March 1740 CE
Answer:
(a) March 1728 CE
RBSE Solutions for Class 12 History Chapter 4 Very Short Answer Type Questions
Question 1.
When and where did the Arabs invade first ?
Answer:
Arabs invaded first in 635 – 36 CE on Syria.
Question 2.
When did Arab invasions start on India ?
Answer:
After the death of Prophet Muhammad Sahab in 632 CE, Arab invasions started on India.
Question 3.
Name the first Arab invader who attacked India. When did he attack India ?
Answer:
The first Arab invader who attacked India was Mir Qasim. He attacked Sindh in 712 CE.
Question 4.
What was the cultural impact of India on Arabs ?
Answer:
Arabs were attracted with the culture of India. Specially, they were too much impressed with mathmatics, science, medical astronomy and philosophy of India.
Question 5.
What was learnt by Arabs from India ?
Answer:
and astrological science from the Indians and adopted Indian methods in the field of art and architecture also.
Question 6.
Which famous Indian books were translated from Sanskrit to Arabic ?
Answer:
‘Brahmasiddhanta’ and ‘Khand Khandyak’ of Brahmagupta were translated from Sanskrit to Arabic.
Question 7.
Describe any two reasons of success of Arabian people in India.
Answer:
The reasons for the success of Arabs in India were
- The general section of the society was dissatisfied during the reign of Dahir.
- Dahir himself was unpopular among the masses because his father was not the actual head of the kingdom.
Question 8.
Which city got the name ‘Swarn nagar’ after being conquered by the Arabs?
Answer:
Arabs got a lot of wealth after conquering Multan. So, they changed the name of Multan to ‘Swarna nagar’.
Question 9.
Who was the founder of Gurjar Pratihar dynasty ?
Answer:
Nagbhatt I was the founder of Gurjar Pratihar dynasty of Jalore, Avanti and Kannauj.
Question 10.
Why was the title of ‘Narayana’ assumed by Nagbhatt I?
Answer:
Nagbhatt – I assumed the title of ‘Narayana’ as he had failed the invasions made by foreigners and was the well wisher of the helpless.
Question 11.
Which titles were assumed by Nagbhatt – II?
Answer:
On the occasion of victory over northern India, Nagbhatt – II assumed the title of Parambhattarak, Maharajadhiraj and Parameshwar.
Question 12.
Name the ruler of Pratihar dynasty who attempted to suicide in Ganga.
Answer:
According to Prabhavak Charit, Nagbhatt-II attempted suicide in Ganga river in 833 CE.
Question 13.
Who was the actual founder of Guhil dynasty?
Answer:
The actual founder of Guhil dynasty of Mewar was Bappa Rawal.
Question 14.
After which conquest did Bappa Rawal assume? What were these titles ?
Answer:
After occupied Chittor, Bappa Rawal assumed three titles – Hindu Surya’, ‘Raj guru’ and ‘Chakkavya’.
Question 15.
Which type of coins were issued by Bappa Rawal ? Which signs were present on both sides of coins ?
Answer:
Bappa Rawal issued gold coins. In his coins of 115 grains, kamdhenu, calf, shivling, nandi a man blowing on his knees, river, fish, trident etc. are inscribed on both the sides.
Question 16.
Which historian has compared Bappa Rawal with Charles Martel ?
Answer:
Shri C. V. Vaidya has compared Bappa Rawal with Charles Martel.
Question 17.
When did Mahmud Gaznavi invade upon Somnath temple ?
Answer:
Mahmud Gaznavi invaded on Somnath temple in 1025 CE. This was his sixteenth invasion.
Question 18.
What was the purpose of Gaznavi’s invasion on India ?
Answer:
The main purpose of Gaznavi’s invasion on India was to get wealth. Other reasons were ambition of extending empire, to destroy the rule of Ismailiya dynasty and spread of Islam.
Question 19.
When was Prithviraj Chauhan born and after which ruler did he ascend the throne ?
Answer:
Prithviraj Chauhan was born in 1166 CE. He ascended the throne at the age of eleven after the death of Someshwar.
Question 20.
What were the main purposes of the conquest policy of Prithviraj Chauhan?
Answer:
The main purposes of the conquest policy of Prithviraj Chauhan were-freedom from the opposition of Kin, elimination of neighbouring kingdoms and confronting foreign enemies.
Question 21.
When and why did Prithviraj-III invade upon Bhandanak?
Answer:
In 1182 CE, for the protection of northern frontiers of his kingdom, Prithviraj-III invaded a terrifying tribe named Bhandanak which resided around Gurgaon and Hissar.
Question 22.
When and why did Prithviraj attack Mahoba ?
Answer:
In order to avenge for the assassination of some of his soldiers, Prithviraj attacked Mahoba state in 1182 CE. In this battle, Chandel ruler Paramardi Deva’s two commanders Alha and Udal were killed while fighting.
Question 23.
What was the main reason behind the conflict between Prithviraj and Jaichand?
Answer:
The main reason behind the conflict between Prithviraj Chauhan and Jaichand was the ambition of expanding empire.
Question 24.
When did the conflict between Prithviraj and Jaichand reach its height?
Answer:
Prithviraj forcefully kidnapped Samyogita, the daughter of Jaichand and married her. This issue was the height of call of struggle between them.
Question 25.
When and between whom was the first battle of Tarain fought?
Answer:
The first battle of Tarain was fought in 1191 CE between Prithviraj Chauhan and Muhammad Ghori.
Question 26.
When and between whom was the second battle of Tarain fought?
Answer:
The second battle of Tarain was fought in 1192 CE between Prithviraj Chauhan and Muhammad Ghori.
Question 27.
What was the main cause of the defeat of Prithviraj Chauhan?
Answer:
The main cause of the defeat of Prithviraj Chauhan was that he lacked foresightedness and diplomacy.
Question 28.
Who were the main scholars in the court of Prithviraj Chauhan?
Answer:
There were many scholars in the court of Prithviraj Chauhan among whom Vidyapati Gaur, Bagishwar, Janardan, Jayanak Vishvarup, Ashadhar were famous.
Question 29.
Who was the court poet of Prithviraj Chauhan ? Which famous book was composed by him?
Answer:
Chandarbardai was the court poet of Prithviraj Chauhan. He composed the famous boek ‘Prithviraj Raso’.
Question 30.
Name the first epic of Hindi literature.
Answer:
Prithviraj Raso’ is called the first epic of Hindi literature.
Question 31.
Who composed ‘Mifta – Ul – Futuh’?
Answer:
Amir Khushro composed Mifta – Ul – Futuh.
Question 32.
What were the reasons for the invasion of Alauddin Khilji on Ranthambore?
Answer:
These reasons were :
- Ranthombore was strategically very important.
- Ranthambore was situated quite close to Delhi.
- Before Alauddin, his uncle Jalaluddin Khilji had made efforts twice to occupy this fort, but he had remained unsuccessful.
- Alauddin Khilji was an ambitious and imperialistic ruler.
Question 33.
Who composed ‘Hammir Mahakavya’?
Answer:
Nayan Chandra Suri composed ‘Hammir Mahakavya’.
Question 34.
Which fort could not be occupied by Jalaluddin Khilji in his campaign?
Answer:
Jalaluddin Khilji fought seventeen wars in his whole life in which he became winner in sixteen. But pite of many efforts, he could not occupy Ranthambore.
Question 35.
Who was the honourable court poet of Hammir Dev?
Answer:
Vijayaditya was the honourable court poet of Hammir Dev. Raghavdev was his guru.
Question 36.
What were the causes of Alauddin’s invasion on Chittor ?
Answer:
The causes of Alauddin’s invasion on Chittor were
- Imperialistic ambition of Alauddin Khilji.
- Increasing power of Mewar.
- Geographical and military importance of Chittor.
- The desire to occupy Padmini.
Question 37.
When did Alauddin Khilji invade Chittor ?
Answer:
On 28 January, 1303 CE, Alauddin Khilji invaded upon Chittor and on 26 August 1303 CE he occucpied it.
Question 38.
Which city was renamed ‘Khizrabad’ by Alauddin ?
Answer:
Alauddin Khilji changed the name of Chittor to Khizrabad.
Question 39.
Which famous books describes the story of Padmini?
Answer:
The story of Padmini has been historically described in Malik Muhammad Jayasi’s composition Padmavať, Abul Fazl’s Akbarnama and Farishta’s Gulshan – e – Ibrahimi and Jafrulvali’s Hazi Uddhvir.
Question 40.
How did Maharana Kumbha supress Mera ?
Answer:
Mera ‘s settlement Maharana was situated in surroundings of Badnore. These people always engaged in conflict. Maharana Kumbha supressed their revolt and gave severe punishment to their leaders.
Question 41.
When and between whom was the battle of Sarangpur fought ?
Answer:
The battle of Sarangpur was fought in 1437 CE between Maharana Kumbha and Mahmud Khilji.
Question 42.
On which place was the contract for the invasion of Chittor held by the joint army of Gujarat and Malwa ?
Answer:
The contract for the invasion of Chittor was held at Champaner by the joint army of Gujarat and Malwa.
Question 43.
With whose coordination did Maharana Kumbha supress his uncle and Mera?
Answer:
Maharana Kumbha supressed his uncle and and Mera with the help of Ranamal.
Question 44.
What was the main reason of conflict between Sisodiya and Rathore ?
Answer:
The main reason of the conflict between Sisodiya and Rathore was the murder of Ranamal.
Question 45.
Which ruler of Rajasthan is known as ‘Abhinav Bharatachrya’?
Answer:
Maharana Kumbha is known as ‘Abhinav Bharatacharya’.
Question 46.
Who is called ‘stable mind in war’?
Answer:
Maharana Kumbha is called ‘stable mind in war.
Question 47.
Which compositions show Maharana Kumbha’s love for music ?
Answer:
Maharana Kumbha was efficient in playing Veena. His compositions Sangeetraj, Sangeet Mimansa, Sangeet Kram Deepika etc. show his love for music.
Question 48.
Name any two famous scholars of Kumbha’s court.
Answer:
Kanh Vyas, these were the writer of Ekalinga Mahatmya and Mandan Mishra.
Question 49.
Which composition of Ayurveda describes different diseases and treatment ?
Answer:
In the field of Ayurveda, Govind’s composition ‘Sar Samuchhaya’ describes procedures regarding the solution and treatment of various diseases.
Question 50.
Who composed ‘Geet Govinda’?
Answer:
Jaidev composed ‘Geet Govinda’.
Question 51.
Why is poet Meha famous ?
Answer:
Poet Meha was the famous composer of Maharana Kumbha’s court. He is famous for his best composition “Tirthmala”.
Question 52.
Which compositions were composed by Maharana Kumbha ?
Answer:
Maharana Kumbha composed three famous compositions regarding music –
- Sangeet raj
- Sangeet Mimansa
- Rasik Priya.
Question 53.
In which places did Kumbha construct temples ?
Answer:
Kumbha constructed temples in Kumbhalgarh, Chittorgarh and Achalgarh.
Question 54.
Who composed the Prashasti of ‘Kirti Stambha’?
Answer:
Poet Atre and his son Mahesh composed the Prashasti of Kirti Stambha.
Question 55.
Who got the title of ‘Kaviraj’ by Maharana Kumbha ?
Answer:
Hiranand Muni got the title of ‘Kaviraj’ by Maharana Kumbha.
Question 56.
Name the famous tempels which were constructed durign the reign of Maharana Kumbha.
Answer:
Kumbhswami temple, Sringar Gauri temple of Chittor, Meera Mandir in Ekalinga and temple of Ranakpur are the famous temples constructed during his reign.
Question 57.
Which stambha had become the source of inspiration for revolutionaries during the nationalist movement of India ?
Answer:
Vijaya stambha had become the source of inspiration for the revolutionaries during the nationalist movement of India.
Question 58.
Who founded the Mughal empire and when ?
Answer:
Mughal empire was founded by Babur in 1526 CE.
Question 59.
Who was the most powerful ruler of India during the invasion of Babur ?
Answer:
Maharana Sanga was the most powerful ruler of India during the invasion of Babur.
Question 60.
Why did Maharana Sanga interfere in Idar state?
Answer:
Maharana Sanga interfered in the matter of Idar state because after the death of Rao Bhan there was conflict among his successors regarding the throne.
Question 61.
What was the immediate cause of Gujarat struggle of Maharana Sanga ?
Answer:
The question of struggle for the succession in Idar state became the immediate cause of Gujarat struggle of Maharana Sanga.
Question 62.
When and between whom was the battle of Khanwa fought and which strategy was followed in this battle?
Answer:
The battle of Khanwa was fought in March, 1527 CE between Babur and Maharana Sanga and Babur followed his Tuluguma system in this battle.
Question 63.
Write any two causes of defeat of Rana Sanga in the battle of Khanwa.
Answer:
These two reasons were :
- The Rajput soldiers were fighting with traditional weapons.
- There was lack of unity and co-ordination in the Rajput army.
Question 64.
What were the two main consequences of the battle of Khanwa ?
Answer:
These consequences were :
- The sovereignty of the Rajputs ended in India. The glorious sun of the Raputs which was dazzling in the high sky above the people now started setting down.
- Mughal empire was established in India and Babur became the permanent emperor of India.
Question 65.
How did Rao Chandrasen become the successor of Maldev?
Answer:
Maldev deprived his elder son Ram and second son Udai Singh from the state. Due to this reason, Rao Chandrasen became the successor of Maldev.
Question 66.
Why did Rao Chandrasen not accept sovereignty of Akbar ?
Answer:
Akbar wanted to occupy the fort of Jodhpur and the influence of Udai Singh was increasing in Mughal court, so Chandrasen did not accept the sovereignty of Akbar.
Question 67.
When and why did Akbar reach Nagaur?
Answer:
During his Ajmer visit in 1570 CE, Akbar heard about the dearth of Marwar region and he reached Nagaur.
Question 68.
When did Rao Chandrasen die ?
Answer:
Rao Chandrasen died in 11 January, 1581 CE.
Question 69.
Who was known as “The mentor of Pratap” and ‘The Pratap of Marwar’?
Answer:
Rao Chandrasen was known as “The mentor of Pratap’ and ‘The Pratap of Marwar’.
Question 70.
When did Akbar attack the Chittor fort ?
Answer:
On 23 October, 1567 CE during the reign of Maharana Udaisingh of Mewar, Akbar attacked the Chittor fort.
Question 71.
When did Akbar occupy Chittor fort ?
Answer:
After the death of Jaimal and Patta, Akbar occupied Chittor fort on 25 February, 1568 CE.
Question 72.
Which book was written by Bernier ?
Answer:
French traveller Bernier wrote his travel account in the form of famous book “Travels in the Mughal Empire’.
Question 73.
Why did Maharana Pratap decide to oppose Akbar ?
Answer:
Maharana Pratap decided to oppose Akbar because he loved the freedom of Mewar and he was ready to sacrifice all for it.
Question 74.
What did Akbar do to force Maharana Pratap to accept his sovereignty?
Answer:
Akbar sent four ambassadors one after the other to force Pratap to accept his sovereignty.
Question 75.
Who led the imperial army in the battle of Haldighati ?
Answer:
Man Singh led the imperial army in the battle of Haldighati.
Question 76.
Where was Bheel community appointed in the battle of Haldighati ?
Answer:
Bheels were appointed in the back side in the battle of Haldighati.
Question 77.
With which states did Maharana Pratap sign the treaty ?
Answer:
Pratap signed the treaty with Kumbhalgarh, Jawar, Chavand, Udaipur, Pindwada, Mandalgarh etc.
Question 78.
When and between whom was the battle of Haldighati fought ?
Answer:
The battle of Haldighati was fought in 1576 CE between Akbar and Maharana Pratap.
Question 79.
Which battle is known as ‘Marathon of Mewar’?
Answer:
Colonel Todd has called the battle of Diver as ‘The Marathon of Mewar’.
Question 80.
Who was the famous painter of Chavand ?
Answer:
The famous painter of Chavand was Nisardi (Nasiruddin).
Question 81.
Why did Durgadas kill the pastrolist ?
Answer:
In 1655 CE after a mutual conflict, Durgadas killed the state pastrolist who was passing through his field taking Sandniya (female camel).
Question 82.
What did Aurangzeb say on the death of Jaswant Singh ?
Answer:
On the death of Jaswant Singh, Aurangzeb said, “Today the barrier of opposition has broken”.
Question 83.
Which son of Aurangzeb declared himself as Emperor ?
Answer:
Aurangzeb’s son Muhammad Akbar declared himself as emperor in 1 January, 1681 CE in Nadol.
Question 84.
When did Aurangzeb die ?
Answer:
Aurangzeb died in 1707 CE.
Question 85.
Who participated in the war of succession among the sons of Shahjahan ?
Answer:
Durgadas participated in the war of succession among the sons of Shahjahan.
Question 86.
Describe the diplomacy of Durgadas.
Answer:
Due to his diplomatic nature, Durgadas not only formed Rathore-Sisodiya alliance with Maharana Rajsingh but also instigated Prince Akbar against the Emperor.
Question 87.
When and where was Shivaji born ?
Answer:
Shivaji was born on 20th April 1627 CE in a hilly fort of Shivner near Puna (Maharashtra).
Question 88.
When was the city of Surat looted and by whom ?
Answer:
The city of Surat was looted by Shivaji in January 1664 CE.
Question 89.
When and between whom was the treaty of Purandar signed ?
Answer:
The treaty of Purandar was signed in June 1665 CE between Shivaji and Jai Singh.
Question 90.
When was the Mughal – Maratha treaty signed ?
Answer:
Mughal Maratha treaty was signed in 1667 CE.
Question 91.
When and where was the coronation of Shivaji perfomed ?
Answer:
The coronation of Shivaji was performed in June 1674 CE in capital Raigarh.
Question 92.
Which were the two famous taxes during the reign of Shivaji ?
Answer:
The two famous taxes during the reign of Shivaji were Chauth and Sardeshmukhi.
RBSE Solutions for Class 12 History Chapter 4 Short Answer Type Questions
Question 1.
Describe the Arab invasion on India.
Answer:
After the death of Prophet Muhammad in 632 CE, the sequence of Arab invasions on India started. During the reign of Umar Khalifa in 636 CE, the Arabs invaded a place named Thana in Mumbai to loot the Indian regions, but they did not get success.
With passage of time, during the reign of Umayyad dynasty, the Arab army occupied Kirmar, Siestan and Makran situated on the other side of Sindh under the leadership of Abdullah. But Khalifa did not allow Abdullah to proceed further ahead and the Arab invasion became limited till here itself.
Question 2.
Describe the war between king Dahir and Arabians.
Answer:
In 711 CE, the pirates of Sindh looted an Arab ship on the local port Debal. At that time, Sindh was ruled upon by a Brahmin king named Dahir. The boundaries of kingdom of Dahir extended till Kashmir in the north and till Kannauj of the Pratiharas in the east. In the west, the region of Makran or Balochistan was included in his frontiers As Dahir did not give a reasonable explanation for the incident of the loot of Arab ship.
Governor Hajjaj of Iraq made it the immediate cause and sent an army to invade Sindh after taking permission from Khalifa Walid. In the two initial campaigns, Hajjaj’s commanders Ubaidullah and Budail had to face defeat and both the commanders were put to death. After this Hajjaj, sent his nephew and son-in-law, seventeen year old Muhammad bin Qasim. As a result of conflict between Dahir and Bin Qasim, Dahir got martyrdom on 20 June 712 CE.
Question 3.
How was Muhammad Bin Qasim killed ? Describe in brief.
Answer:
According to historian Gauri Shankar Hirachand Ojha, after witnessing the beauty of the princesses of Dahir, the Khalifa proposed to them. They both wanted to avenge the death of their father. For this reason, they now got a chance and complained the Khalifa that they were not worth placing their feet on his bed as Qasim had took away their virginity even before sending them over there.
Listening to all this, the Khalifa became angered and he immediately issued a written order to send Muhammad Bin Qasim alive, woven in the skin of an ox to him. The order was immediately implemented. Qasim died on the way on the third day and he was sent in that state itself to the Khalifa. The Khalifa called both the princesses, opened the skin of the ox in front of them and showed them the dead body of Qasim and further said that “I punish those who offend God’s Khalifa in this manner.”
As soon as the princesses saw the dead body of Qasim, their faces glowed with happiness as their desire had been fulfilled, but they smiled lightly and taunted upon Khalifa and said “Oh Khalifa ! Qasim did not take away our virginity. He never put an evil eye upon us, but as he had killed our father, brother and citizens, so in order to avenge all this, we had falsely charged him.” Listening to these words of the brave girls, the Khalifa got horrified and got them burnt alive.
Question 4.
What was the impact on Arabians of coming in contact with India ?
Answer:
The only political consequence of victory of Sindh by the Arabs was that the relations of Sindh with India remained disturbed for a short time and it became a part of Islamic empire, but with cultural viewpoint, India attained victory upon the Arabs.
Indian philosophy, science, mathematics, medical science and astrology influenced the Arabians in a great way. They got many Indian Sanskrit texts translated into Arabic language, among which, Brahmagupta’s Brahmasiddhanta and Khandakhadyaka are the most famous ones.
The Arabian people learned various fundamental principles such as number system, decimal system, medical science and astrological science from the Indians and adopted Indian methods in the field of art and architecture also. Various things associated with Indian philosophy, literature and art were introduced to the European people through the Arabs. In this way, Indian knowledge successfully reached the western countries through the Arabs.
Question 5.
What do you know about Nagbhatt – I ? Describe in brief?
Answer:
Nagabhatt – I (730 – 756) CE is regarded as the founder of Gurjara Pratihara dynasty of Jalore, Avanti and Kannauj. After conquering Bhinmal from the Chawads, he also occupied various places such as Abu, Jalore etc. After this he made Jalore his capital in place of Bhinmal. After performing empire extension in Malwa, he also made Avanti (Ujjain) his capital. During the reign of Nagabhatta-I, the Bilochs and Arabs invaded India from the direction of Sindh.
He not only protected western India from Muslims invasions but also reoccupied the regions which were destructed by them. In Gwalior Prashasti, Nagabhatta-I has been adorned with the title of ‘Narayana’ as he had failed the invasions made by foreigners and was the well wisher of the helpless.
It is also known from the description made by Muslim author Al Biladuri that the contemporary Arab ruler Junaid did not gain success against Malwa. Nausari inscription contains the names of those rulers who were defeated by the Arabs, but the absence of Nagabhatta-I’s name proves the authenticity of the above mentioned facts.
Question 6.
What were the reasons for the success of Arabs in India ?
Answer:
There were several reasons for the success of Arabs in context to Sindh. The general section of the society was dissatisfied during the reign of Dahir. Dissatisfaction and maladministration was present in most parts of the kingdom. Due to this, he could not get public support at the time of Arab invasion. Dahir himself was unpopular among the masses because his father was not the actual head of the kingdom.
There was lack of the spirit of mutual coordination, brotherhood and cooperation among the contemporary Indian rulers and personal interests were on rise. No kingdom had made effort to strengthen its military power keeping in mind the expansion of military power and the risk of foreign invasions.
Question 7.
Who was Nagbhatt – II ?
Answer:
After the death of Vatsraja, ascended his son Nagbhatt – II (795-833 CE) born out of Sunderdevi attained the throne of Gurjara Pratiharas. With his bravery, he re – established the lost prestige of Gurjara Pratihara dynasty which reached its height during his reign.
In the beginning, he was defeated in the struggle against Rashtrakuta dynasty of Southern India but later taking advantage of the internal circumstances of Rashtrakuta king GovindII, he defeated Chhakrayudh and occupied Kannauj. According to Gwalior inscription, “The kings of Andhra, Sindhu, Vidharbha and Kalinga surrendered infront of his youthfulness just in the way the moths surrender infront of fire.
The fame of his great qualities spread among all, while he gained victory upon the rulers of mountainous forts of Anart, Malav, Matsya, Kirat, Turushka and Vatsa in a forceful way.” Nagbhatt – II gained the title of Parambhattarak, Maharajadhiraj and Parameshwar. He got himself drowned in Ganga in 833 CE and gave up his life.
Question 8.
Who is known as the actual founder of Guhil dynasty’ in Mewar ? Or What do you know about Bappa Rawal?
Answer:
Bappa Rawal is regarded as the actual founder of Guhil dynasty of Mewar. According to Dr Ojha, ‘Bappa Rawal’ was not the name of a particular individual rather it was the title of a ruler named Kalbhoj. According to Muhnrot Nandey Ki Khyaat, he used to graze the cows of Rishi Harit. Pleased with the services of Bappa, Harit Rishi convinced Mahadev and asked for the kingdom of Mewar for him.
After the creation of disturbance between Raja Man and the feudal lords, several feudal lords left the court and went away. These rebel feudal lords convinced Bappa to become the ruler and he invaded Chittor in 734 CE. Bappa occupied Chittor and gained three titles – Hindu Surya’, ‘Rajguru’ and ‘Chakkvaya’.
At the age of fifty, Bappa invaded Khurasan and occupied it. He died over there. According to historian Ojha, Bappa died in Nagda and his epitaph is famous by the name of ‘Bappa Rawal. Historian C. V. Vaidya has compared him with Charles Martel (the French commander who was the first to defeat the Mughal army) and has said that in front of his rockfirm valour, the tide of Arab invasions was destructed.
Question 9.
Describe the background of Turkish invasion on India.
Answer:
After the Arab invasions which took place in the eighth century, India remained protected from Mughal invasion for around two centuries. In the end of the tenth century, the sequence of Mughal invasions restarted for one more time, but this time invasions were made by the Turks instead of the Arabs. The first Turkish invader to invade India was Ghazni ruler Subkutddin.
After becoming the ruler in 977 CE, he started expanding the frontiers of his empire. At that time, Jayapala the capable ruler from Shahi dynasty, ruled over the northwestern part of India. After a long struggle, owing to treason and conspiracies, Subktuddin stood victorious and he occupied control over the Indian regions from Lamghan up till Peshawar.
Subktuddin died in 997 CE and after this, his sons Ismael and Mahmud (Ghaznavi) beame the rulers respectively. Mahmud was a capable and ambitious ruler. He invaded India 17 times, among which his sixteenth invasion made on Somnath Temple (Gujarat) in 1025 CE is the most famous one.
Question 10.
Describe Mahmud Ghaznavi’s invasion on Somnath temple.
Answer:
Mahmud Ghaznavi invaded on Somnath temple in 1025 CE. This was his sixteenth invasion. Receiving the news of arrival of Mahmud the Raja Bhimdev fled from the capital along with his followers, but the common people and priests of Somnath remained undeterred at their places because they were sure that due to the presence of Lord Somnath, they were absolutely safe. The people of Somnath opposed the invaders on the first day in such a violent way that they were forced to move back.
On the second day, the army of the enemy became successful in crossing the walls of the city. Mahmud occupied the city without any opposition and ordered for mass killing. More than 50,000 men and women were put to death. After gaining victory, Mahmud himself broke the statue of Somnath and sent its pieces to Ghazni, Mecca and Madina and settled them under the staircases of the main mosque.
Question 11.
Highlight the enemity between Prithviraj Chauhan and Jaichand. Or Why did Jaichand celebrate in his capital. Explain.
Answer:
Jaichand was the ruler of Gahadawal state of Kannauj situated in the east of Prithviraj Chauhan’s kingdom. Traditional enmity continued between the Chauhans and Gahadawalas on the issue of control upon Delhi. Prithviraj wished to merge Kannauj into his kingdom, and on the other hand Jaichand was also making victorious plans just like Prithviraj. Due to this struggle between them was inevitable.
Prithviraj forcefully kidnapped Samyogita, the daughter of Jaichand and married her. This issue was the height of call of struggle between the two rulers. Due to his, daughter being kidnapped, Jaichand became the hardcore enemy of Prithviraj and he started to look for an opportunity to take revenge.
According to a popular theory, he convinced for assistance and invited Muhammad Ghori to attack upon Prithviraj. According to ancient historic collections, when Jaichand heard the news of Prithviraj getting defeated by Ghori, he celebrated the event in his capital.
Question 12.
Review the Samyogita episode in the light of historical details. Or “Contradictions are present in current evidences regarding the love relationship of Prithviraj and Samyogita.” Analyse it briefly.
Answer:
According to Chandar Bardai’s composition ‘Prithviraj Raso’, the reason of struggle between Jaichand and Prithviraj Chauhan was the kidnap of Jaichand’s daughter Samyogita by Prithviraj Chauhan and marrying her. According to the story, Prithviraj Chauhan and Samyogita were in love with each other, but due to enmity with Prithviraj Chauhan, Jaichand wished to get his daughter married to some other king.
For this objective, he organized a ‘Swaymvara’ of Samyogita along with Rajasuya Yajna. Except Prithviraj, he invited all other prominent kings and emperors in this ceremony. In order to offend Prithviraj, he ordered a statue of Prithviraj and installed it in place of the gatekeeper. At the time of Swaymvara, when all the kings and emperors were waiting to be garlanded by Samyogita, she put the garland in the neck of the statue of Prithviraj.
Just at that time, Prithviraj reached the venue along with his army and eloped with Samyogita. The soldiers of Jaichand tried to stop Prithviraj but they remained unsuccessful. Historians such as Dr R. S. Tripathi, Gauri Shankar Hirachand and Visweshwara Rao have rejected this historic event as just a love story while Dr Dashrath Sharma has accepted the incident of Samyogita as a historical fact in ‘The Early Chauhan Dynasties’.
Question 13.
Describe in brief the early struggle between Prithviraj Chauhan and Muhammad Ghori.
Answer:
After being appointed as the Governor of Ghazni, Muhammad Ghori invaded Multan in 1175 CE and occupied it. After this, he proved his might by gaining victory in the battle of Gujrat, Sialkot and Lahore. According to Rajasthani sources, during this time Ghori waged several battles with Prithviraj Chauhan and he had to face defeat each time.
The claim of Prithviraj’s victories on Ghori has been made as 21 times in Prithviraraj Raso and for 7 times in Hammir Mahakavya. Two decisive battles took place between them. In 1191 CE, Muhammad Ghori procceeded from Lahore and reached up till Tarain while occuping a place named Tabarhind.
Here a fierce battle took place between the two rulers in which Prithviraj Chauhan’s Delhi feudal lord Govindraj injured Muhammad Ghori with the blow of his harpoon. Injured Ghori fled away along with his army towards Ghazni. Prithviraj occupied Tabarhind and imprisoned Qasi Jiauddin who was released later in exchange of a huge amount of cash.
Question 14.
Describe the second battle of Tarain.
Answer:
In 1192 CE, Muhammad Ghori once again reached the battlefield of Tarain alongwith his army. Prithviraj reached the venue to confront him, but this time Ghori trapped his enemy under pretense of a reconciliation talk. As a the talk of reconciliation continued for an extended time period, the Chauhan army became careless and got engaged in material pleasure. Taking advantage of this, Ghori suddenly attacked one night.
The Rajput army could not bear this sudden attack and was defeated. The defeated Prithviraj was imprisoned near Sirsa at a place called Saraswati. Ghori took the imprisoned Prithviraj to Ghazni where at the time of exhibiting the ‘Shabd Bedhi arrow, Prithviraj killed Ghori. But in contrarily Hasan Nizami has confirmed the death of Prithviraj.
Question 15.
What was the reasons for the defeat of Prithviraj Chauhan ?
Answer:
Reasons for the defeat of Prithviraj Chauhan – Even after being a conqueror, Prithviraj Chauhan lacked foresightedness and diplomacy. He did not establish cordial relations with his neighbouring kingdoms, instead he waged wars with them and made them his enemy. For this reason, he did not receive their assistance at the time of war against Muhammad Ghori.
In 1178 CE, when Muhammad Ghori invaded upon Gujarat, Prithviraj committed a mistake by not providing help to Gujarat ruler Bhimdev – II. Another major fault of his was not attacking the Turkish army which was fleeing after being defeated in the first battle of Tarain. If he had have violently attacked the army of his enemy at that time, Muhammad Ghori would never have dared attack upon him again. He started to neglect the administrative obligation after his marriage with Samyogita and had started to live a luxurious life.
Question 16.
Evaluate the character Prithviraj Chauhan.
Answer:
Prithviraj Chauhan was a brave and courageous ruler. Right from the beginning of his reign, he waged wars of one after the other which proves him to be an efficient soldier and commander. After gaining victory in several battles, he gained the title of Dalpangul (conqueror of the world). Before the second battle of Tarain in which Muhammad Ghori resorted to treason and deception, he had not lost even a single war.
Along with being a conqueror, he was also a great scholar. Various scholars were present in his court among which Vidyapati Gaud, Vageshwar, Janardan, Jayanak, Vishwarup, Ashadhar etc. were the major ones. Chandarbardai was his royal poet whose text ‘Prithviraj Raso’ is regarded as the first epic of Hindi literature.
Question 17.
What were the causes of Alauddin Khilji’s invasion on Ranthambore?
Answer:
The causes of Alauddin Khilji’s invasion on Ranthambore were –
- Ranthambore was strategically very important. Alauddin Khilji wished to occupy this invincible fort and dominate the Rajput kings.
- Ranthambore was situated quite close to Delhi. Due to this, Aladuddin Khilji could not bear the increasing power of the Chauhans of this region.
- Alauddin Khilji wished to avenge the failure of his uncle Jalaluddin Khilji.
- Alauddin Khilji was an ambitious and imperialistic ruler. The attack upon Ranthambore was the result of this policy.
Question 18.
‘Protection of rebels’ became the cause of attack upon the fort of Ranthambore. Justify this statement.
Answer:
According to Nayanchandra Suri’s Hammir Mahakavya, one reason for attack upon Ranthambore was that its ruler Hammir had given protection to Alauddin Khilji’s rebel commander Mir Muhammad. Muslim historian Isami has also confirmed this reason in his description. He has written that in 1299 CE, Alauddin Khilji had sent his two commanders Ulugh Khan and Nusrat Khan to invade Gujarat.
After conquering Gujarat when the army was returning then, on the issue of division of booty, the Nav Muslims (Mongols who had settled in India during the reign of Jalaluddin Firoz Khilzi and had accepted Islam as their religion) revolted near Jalore. Although the rebels were barbarically suppressed yet out of them, Muhammad Shah and his brother Kamru were successful in running away from there and reaching Ranthambore ruler Hammir.
Hammir not only provided them protection but he also conferred the Jagir of‘Jagana’ upon Muhammad Shah. According to Chandrashekhar’s composition ‘Hammir Hath’, Muhammad Shah had fallen in love with a Maratha wife of Alauddin Khilji and they both became united and framed a conspiracy to eliminate Alauddin Khilji.
As Alauddin Khilji got information about this conspiracy in due time, efforts were made to imprison Mir Muhammad Shah, but he fled away and reached Hammir’s haven. From Alauddin Khilji’s side, a demand was made to hand over these rebels. When Hammir rejected this demand, the army of Alauddin Khilji attacked Ranthambore.
Question 19.
How did Alauddin Khilji occupy Ranthambore?
Answer:
After the failure of Ulugh Khan, Alauddin Khilji himself reached Ranthambore. In his composition “Khazain-Ul-Futuh’ Amir Khusrau has depicted the eye witnessed description of this campaign and has said that-In this invasion, the Sultan took assistance from Pasheb, Magrabi and Arradaa.
After several efforts, when Alauddin Khilji remained unsuccessful in conquering the fort, then he resorted to treason and diplomacy and sent an offer of reconciliation to Hammir. For this treaty, Hammir sent hs commander Ratipal. Alauddin tempted Ratipal and with his assistance, another commander of Hammir named Ranmal to grant them the fort of Ranthambore and got their favour.
In Chauhan compositions, it has been mentioned that Alauddin won the favour of one of the officers of Hammir and adulterated the food present in the fort. Due to this, severe crisis of food emerged in the fort. In this context, Amir Khusrau has written that “In exchange of two grains of gold, not even one grain rice was available.”
Due to lack of food, Hammir was forced to get out of the fort, but due to the betrayal of Ranmal and Ratipal, he had to face defeat. During the battle Hammir died while confronting the enemy while the brave Rajput women performed Jauhar under the leadership of his queen Rangdevi.
According to Jodhraj’s composition ‘Hammir Raso’, in this Jauhar, the women of Muhammad Shah were also burnt alongwith Rangdevi. At some places, it is mentioned that Rangdevi had performed Jal Jauhar’ in ‘Padmala Pond’ situated in the fort. In this way Alauddin Khilji occupied Ranthambore on 11th July 1301 CE.”
Question 20.
Evaluate the character Hammirdev.
Answer:
During his lifetime, Hammir fought 17 battles out of which he stood victorious in 16 battles. Even after continuous efforts, Jalaluddin Khilji remained unable to occupy Ranthambore and this proves the immense bravery and military capability of Hammir. Hammir was not only a brave warrior, but also a compassionate ruler.
Hammir greately respected scholars. Vijayaditya was his respected court poet and Raghavdev was his guru. By Organizing Koti Yajna, he proved his faith in religion. In history, Hammir is famous for keeping his promises and protection of the refugees. He insisted on not handing over the rebels of Alauddin Khilji who had approached him for protection.
Question 21.
“The desire to get Padmini was the main cause of Alauddin Khilji’s invasion on Mewar.” Justify the statement.
Answer:
According to some historians, Alauddin Khilji wished to occupy Mewar ruler Ratan Singh’s beautiful wife Padmini. He sent this messsage to Ratan Singh that if he wanted to save himself from severe destruction, he should send his wife Padmini in the Royal Harem.
When Ratan Singh rejected this proposal, Alauddin invaded upon Chittor. According to Malik Muhammad Jayasi’s Padmavat which was composed in around 1540 CE during the reign of Sher Shah Suri, the major reason of this invasion was to occupy Padmini.
Question 22.
Describe Mewar – Gujarat relationship during the reign of Maharana Kumbha.
Answer:
At the time of Kumbha, maladministration prevailing in Gujarat had ended and the rulers there were eager to extend their region of influence. The continued struggle between Malwa and Mewar and the political condition of Sirohi and Gujarat made the struggle between Mewar and Gujarat inevitable.
In 1456 CE after the death of Firoz Khan, his son Shams Khan became the new master of Nagaur, but Firoz’s younger brother Mujahid Khan defeated Shams Khan and occupied Nagaur. Shams Khan reoccupied Nagaur with the help of Maharana Kumbha and shortly after this, against the conditions laid down by Kumbha, he started repair of the Nagaur fort. Angered Kumbha invaded upon Naguar and occupied it.
Question 23.
What do you know about Chittor Vijaya Stambha ?
Answer:
Vijaya Stambha which is a nine storey and 122 feet tall structure inside the Chittor fort, was built by Maharana Kumbha in the memory of his victory upon Malwa’s Sultan Mahmud Khilji. Its construction took place under the guardianship of head sculpture Jaita and his three sons – Napa, Poma and Punja.
Due to the artistic statues of numerous Hindu gods and goddesses engraved upon it, the Vijaya Stambha is called as the ‘Precious treasure of ancient Hindu sculpture’. Dr Gopinath Sharma has called it as ‘an organized museum adorned with Hindu gods and goddesses’ and Gauri Shankar Hirachand Ojha has addressed it as “a precious collection of ancient gods.’
Question 24.
“To invade upon Sanga by Babur was the confrontation of two ambitions.” Justify it.
Answer:
Sanga thought that after gaining victory over Ibrahim Lodhi and wealth from there, Babur would return like his ancestors Timur and other invaders. But Babur wanted to occupy entire India. This was not possible without defeating ‘Hindupat (Hindu chief) Sanga. The presence both them in northern India was just like two swords present in a single sheath. So the confrontation of their ambitions (Babur & Sanga) became the main cause of conflict between them.
Question 25.
What were the results of the battle of Khanwa ?
Answer:
The results of the battle of Khanwa were as following
- The sovreignty of the Rajputs ended in India. The glorious sun of the Rajputs which was dazzling in the high sky above the people now started setting down.
- The Rajput organization which was built due to the prestige and power of Mewar ended with this defeat.
- Mughal Empire was established in India and Babur became the permanent Emperor of India.
Question 26.
How did Rao Chandrasen suppress the internal revolts after becoming the ruler ?
Answer:
After a short time of becoming the ruler, Chandrasen once became agitated and killed his servant. Due to this, Jaitmaal and some other similar Chieftains got angered. The annoyed chieftains made an alliance with his rebel brothers Ram, Udai Singh and Raimal and invited them to invade in order to punish Chandrasen.
Ram started tyranny in Sojat while Raimal started nuisance in Dunara province and Udai Singh occupied Gangaani and Bavadi. As soon as Chandrasen got this information, he sent his army to suppress the tyranny due to which Ram and Raimal returned to their respective Jagirs while Udai Singh fought him back at a place called Lohavat. In this battle, Udai Singh became injured and Chandrasen stood victorious.
Question 27.
Why was Rao Chandrasen called as ‘the Mentor of Pratap’?
Answer:
Rao Chandrasen was the first ruler of independent thoughts in Rajasthan during Akbar’s period. His brothers continued to lead a royal life while he sustained his life by selling his gems and ornaments. Chandrasen chose to leave the state of Jodhpur and roam for days and nights in the hills and confront the Mughal army, but he did not accept the sovereignty of the Mughals.
The start of the struggle which was done by Chandrasen that was adopted by Maharana Pratap who became extremely renowned in the later period. Due to this Chandrasen is also known as ‘ The Mentor of Pratap’ and ‘The Pratap of Marwar.
Question 28.
Give a character sketch of Maharana Pratap.
Answer:
The characteristic qualities of Maharana Pratap were as following
- He had pledged never to wage an attack on one who didn’t possess arms. He always kept two swords-one sword was to be handed over to the enemy to fight against him.
- The state symbol of Mewar represented social equality. Kshatriyas on one side, and Bhil warriors on the other, were symbols of the equality of all the groups. Maharana Pratap was loved by all and his people were always ready even to sacrifice their lives for him.
- Maharana Pratap was a lover of freedom. Even after various difficulties, he did not accept the sovereignty of Akbar at any cost.
- He was a guardian of religion and always respected the state symbol.
Question 29.
Evaluate the character of Durgadas Rathore.
Answer:
During the battle of succession between the sons of Shah Jahan, Durgadas participated in the battle of Dharmat along with Maharaja Jaswant Singh. He was a brave warrior. It has been said that One after the other, Durgadas got seated on four horses and when all of them were killed, then he got seated on the fifth horse, but this fifth horse was also killed.
Till then not only his weapons had got broken but his body had also been severely injured. Finally he fell down on the battlefield. It looked as if Bhishma were lying on the bed. Due to his bravery and qualities, colonel James Todd has addressed him as “The Ulises of Rathores.”
Question 30.
Shivaji was in favour of Hindu Swaraj. Justify it.
Answer:
The main objective of Shivaji was to provide religious freedom to the Hindus in entire India. The contemplative and effectual Marathas had taken his beliefs in this context only. The collection of taxes such as Chauth and Sardeshmukhi done by Shivaji was the source of extension of kingdom in entire India.
The objective of Shivaji’s visiting Agra was to witness the condition of northern India with his own eyes and to calculate whether northern India was ready to free itself from the clutches of the Mughal Empire. While fighting against the Mughals, Shivaji adopted the policy of union instead of confronting the Rajput rulers. Thus he was in favour of Hindu Swaraj.
Question 31.
What were the main provisions of the treaty signed, between Mir Bakshi Hussain Ali and Shahu ?
Answer:
The provisions of treaty
- The Mughals would return all those regions to Shahu which were famous by the name of Shivaji’s Swaraj.
- The claim of occupacy of the Marathas on the regions won by them in Khandesh, Barar, Gondwana, Hyderabad and Karanataka in recent time would be accepted.
- The Marathas would be allowed to collect taxes namely Chauth and Sardeshmukhi from six provinces of Deccan. In exchange of Chauth, 15,000 Maratha soldiers would remain in service of the Mughal Emperor.
- Shahu’s mother Yasubai and his wife along with the members of the royal family of Marathas who had been imprisoned in Delhi would be freed and sent back.
Question 32.
What were the provisions of the treaty of Mungi Shivagaon ?
Answer:
In March, 1728 CE at a place named Palkhed near Aurangabad, Peshwa defeated the army of Nizam and forced him to sign the treaty of Mungi Shivangaon. According to the provisions of this treaty.
- Nizam shunned the responsibility of providing protection to Sambhaji and accepted to send him to Panhala.
- It was decided to give up the annexed Maratha regions and to release the Maratha prisoners.
- According to the treaty of 1719 CE, Shahu’s right of collecting Chauth and Sardeshmukhi tax was accepted.
RBSE Solutions for Class 12 History Chapter 4 Long Answer Type Questions
Question 1.
What were the causes of Arab invasions on India ? Describe the Arab invasion on India.
Answer:
Arab Invasion – After the death of Prophet Muhammad in 632 CE, the sequence of Arab invasions on India started. During the reign of Umar Khalifa in 636 CE, the Arabs invaded a place named Thana in Mumbai to loot the Indian regions, but they didn’t get success. With passage of time, during the reign of Umayyad dynasty, the Arab army occupied Kirmar, Siestan and Makran situated on the other side of Sindh under the leadership of Abdullah.
Khalifa did not allow Abdullah to proceed further ahead and the Arab invasion became limited till here itself. The Causes of Arab Invasions on India The causes of Arab invasions on India were as following:
- Islam had orgnaized the Arabians and had infused an immense desire of religious propagation in them. Just like in other countries, the objective of propagating their religion inspired them to invade upon India also.
- The Khalifa was not only the religious head of the Islam community, but was the political head also. So the spirit of empire extension was also naturally present.
- The Arabs were well aware of the economic prosperity of India. They wanted to acquire wealth through invasions.
ARABS AND DAHIR SEN:
Immediate Cause: In 711 CE, the pirates of Sindh looted an Arabian ship on the local port Debal. At that time, indh was ruled upon by a Brahamin king named Dahir. The boundaries of kingdom of Dahir extended upto Kashmir in the north and upto Kannauj of the Pratiharas in the east. In the west, the region of Makran or Balochistan was included in his frontiers.
As Dahir did not give a reasonable explanation for the incident of the loot of the Arabian ship, Governor Hajjaj of Iraq made it the immediate cause of invasion and sent an army to invade Sindh after taking permission from Khalifa walid. In the two initial campaigns, Hajjaj’s commanders Ubaidullah and Budail had to face defeat and both the commanders were put to death. After this, Hajjaj sent his nephew and son – in – law, seventeen years old Muhammad Bin Qasim.
Conquest of Debal – Qasim reached and preapared to seige the city, but a 120 feet massive temple surrounded with a strong wall came in between. A traitor priest from the temple joined the Arabs and he gave the information that till the red flag tied with a charm continued to wave upon the temple, the city not be conquered. Soon after Muhammad Qasim dropped the flag through Manjanik (harpoons).
The dropping of the flag disheartened the soldiers who were present to protect the city and encouraged the Arab soldiers. After occupying the city, Qasim killed many people and imprisoned young children and women. He got a lot of wealth by looting the temple whose fifth part was sent to Hajjaj and the remaining part was distributed among the army. After this, he marched ahead and occupied Nerun, Sehwan and Sesam also.
Finally on 20th June, 712 CE, a fierce struggle took place between the Indian and Arabian armies in the battle of Rawar. Dahir tore the enemy off and reached the middle part of Arabian army along with his companions. Dahir was seated on an elephant and was bravely confronting the enemy along with his companions. Suddenly an arrow pierced his body and he recieved martyrdom.
After this Rani Bai, wife of Dahir made effort to protect the fort but after becoming unsuccessful in doing so, she committed Jauhar and proteced her dignity. After the victory of Rawar, Qasim got control over Brahmanabad. Here Qasim met Ladi, the second queen of Dahir and two dughters Surya Devi and Parmal Devi. After Brahmananad, Qasim also occupied the capital Alor and Multan.
Victory upon Multan was the last victory of Arabs in India. They got wealth to such massive exent over here that they changed the name of Multan to‘Swarna Nagar’. Decline of Muhammad Bin Qasim According to historian Gauri Shankar Hirachand Ojha, after witnessing the beauty of the princesses of Dahira, the Khalifa proposed to them. They both wanted to avenge the death of their father.
For this reason, they now got a chance and complained to the Khalifa that they were not worth placing their feet on his bed as Qasim had taken away their virginity even before sending them over there. Listening to all this, the Khalifa got angered and he immediately issued a written order to send Muhammad Bin Qasim alive, woven in the skin of an ox to him. The order was immediately implemented.
Qasim died on the way on the third day and he was sent in that state itself to the Khalifa. The Khalifa called both the princesses, opened the skin of the ox in front of them and showed them the dead body of Qasim and further said that he punish those who offeneded God’s Khalifa, in that manner.
As soon as the princesses saw the dead body of Qasim, their faces glowed with happiness as their desire had been fullfilled, but they smiled ligthly and taunted upon Khalifa and said, “O Khalifa ! Qasim did not take away our virginity. He never put an evil eye upon us, but as he had killed our father, brother and citiznes, so in order to avenge all this, we had falsely charged him.”
Listening to these words of the brave girls, the Khalifa gat horrified and got them burnt alive. Effect of Relations with India on the Arabs The only political consequence of the victory of Sindh by the Arabs was that the relations of Sindh with India remained disturbed for a short time and it became a part of Islamic empire, but with cultural viewpoint, India attained victory upon the Arabs.
Indian philosophy, science, mathematics, medical science and astrology influenced the Arabs in a great way. They got many Indian Sanskrit texts translated into Arabic language, among which, Brahmagupta’s Brahmasiddhanta and Kandakhadyaka are the most famous ones.
The Arabian people learned various fundamental principles such as number system, decimal system, medical science and astrological science from the Indians and adopted Indian methods in the field of art and architecture also. Various things associated with Indian philosophy, literature and art were introduced to the European people through the Arabs. In this way, Indian knowledge successfully reached the western countries through the Arabs.
Reasons for the success of the Arabs in India:
There were several reasons for the success of Arabs in context to Sindh –
- The general section of society was dissastisfied during the reign of Dahir.
- Dissatisfaction and maladministration was present in most parts of the kingdom. Due to this Dahir could not get public support at the time of Arab invasion.
- Dahir himself was unpopular among the masses because his father was not the actual head of the kingdom.
- There was lack of the spirit of mutual co-ordination, brotherhood and co-operation among the contemporary Indian rulers and personal interests were on rise.
- No kindom had made effort to strengthen its military power keeping in mind the expansion of military power and the risk of foreign invasions.
- The responsibility of military activities was limited to the Rajputs who had started to fight with one another due to mutual misunderstandings and jealousy.
- Along with the qualification, bravery and leadership of Muhammad Bin Qasim, the zeal of religious propoagation immense desire of gaining wealth and the military support exended by the Khalifa also contributed significantly towards their success.
Question 2.
Describe the conflict between Prithviraj Chauhan and Muhammad Ghori. What were the causes of the defeat of Prithviraj Chauhan ?
Answer:
During the time of invasions of Muhammad Ghori upon India, there was rule of Prithviraj Chauhan upon Delhi and Ajme. He is renwoned by the name of ‘Rai Pithora’ in history. Prithviraj was born in 1166 CE. After the death of his father Someshwar, he became the successor of Chauhan dynasty at a young age of 11 years.
After remaining under the guardianship of his mother for one year, Prithviraj handled the actual control of his kingdom in 1178 CE in an independent way. Conflict between Prithviraj Chauhan and Muhammad Ghori After being appointed as the Governor of Ghazni, Muhammad Ghori invaded Multan in 1175 CE and occupied it. After this, he proved his might by gaining victory in the battles of Gujarat, Sialkot and Lahore.
According to Rajasthani sources during this time, Ghori waged several battles upon Prithviraj Chauhan and he had to face defeat each time. The claim of Prithviraj’s victories on Ghori has been made as 21 times in Prithviraj Raso and for 7 times in Hammir Mahakavya. Two decisive battles took place between both of them.
First Battle of Tarain (1191 CE) – In 1191 CE, Muhammad Ghori proceeded from Lahore and reached upto Tarain while occupying a place named Tabarhind. Here a fierce battle took place between the two rulers in which Prithviraj Chauhan’s Delhi feudal lord Govindraj injured Muhammad Ghori with the blow of his harpoon. Injured Ghori fled away along with his army towards Ghazni.
Prithviraj occupied Tabarhind and imprisoned Qasi Jiauddin who was released later in exchange of a huge amount of cash. Second battle of Tarain (1192 CE) – After one year, Muhammad Ghori reappeared in the battlefield of Tarain along with his army. Prithviraj reached the venue to confront him, but this time, Ghori trapped his enemy under pretense of a reconciliation talk.
As the talk of reconciliation continued for an extended period, the Chauhan army became careless and got engaged in material pleasure. Taking advantage of this, Ghori suddenly attacked one night. The Rajput army could not bear this sudden attack and was defeated. The defeated Prithviraj was imprisoned near Sirsa at a place called Saraswati.
According to Prithviraj Raso imprisoned near Sirsa at a place called Saraswati. According to Prithviraj Raso, Ghori took the imprisoned Prithviraj to Ghazni, where at the time of exhibiting the ‘shabd bedhi’ arrow, Prithviraj killed Ghori. While according to the contemporary historian Hasan Nizami, after the second battle of Tarain, Prithviraj Chauhan had ruled upon Ajmer in the form of a subsidiary ruler of Ghori.
In favour of this statement of Hasan, a coin has also been referred to, upon which, on one side, the name of Muhammad Ghori and on the other side, the name of Prithviraj Chauhan is inscribed. Causes of against Prithviraj Chauhan’s Defect Instead Even after being a conqueror, Prithviraj Chauhan lacked foresightedness and diplomacy. He did not establish cordial relations with his neighbouring kingdoms.
Instead he waged wars against them and made them his enemy. For this reason, he did not receive their assistance at the time of war against Muhammad Ghori. In 1178 CE when Muhammad Ghori had invaded upon Gujarat ruler Bhimdev-II, at that time Prithviraj committed a mistake by not providing help to Gujarat. Another major fault of his was not attacking the Turkish army which was fleeing after being defeated in the first battle of Tarain.
If he had violently attacked the army of his enemy at that time, Muhammad Ghori would never have dared to attack upon him again. He started to neglect the administrative obligations after his marriage with Samyogita and had started to live a luxurious life. Evaluation of Prithviraj Chauhan Prithviraj was a brave and courageous ruler. Right from the beginning of his reign, he waged wars, one after the other which proves him to be an efficient soldier and commander.
After gaining victory in several battles, he gained the title of Dalpangul (conqueror of the world). Before the second battle of Tarain in which Muhammad Ghori resorted to treason and deception, he had not lost even a single war. Along with being a conqueror, he was alao a great scholar.
Various scholars were present in his court among which Vidyapati Gaud, Vageshwar, Janardan, Jayanak, Vishwarup, Ashadhar etc. were the major ones. Chandar Bardai was his royal poet whose text ‘Prithviraj Raso’ is regarded as the first epic of Hindi literature.
Question 3.
Describe the Ranthambore conquest of Alauddin Khilji. Or Describe the relationship of Alauddin Khilji with the ruler of Ranthambore Hammirdev.
Answer:
Hammir was the third son of his father Jaitra Singh. Being the most capable of all the sons, his coronation ceremony was conducted by Jaitra Singh during his lifetime itelf in 1282 CE. After gaining control of administration Hammir followed the Digvijaya policy till 1288 and extended the fronteirs of his kingdom. He released various conquered states after procuring wealth from them.
After Digvijaya, Hammir organised Koti Yajnas which increased his reputation. By defeating the Mewar ruler Samar Singh, Hammir established his awe in the entire Rajasthan. Hammir and Alauddin Khilji In 1296 CE, Alauddin Khilji assassinated his uncle Jalaluddin Khilji and beame the Sultan of Delhi. After few years, Alauddin Khilji started attacking upon Ranthambore, the reasons of which were as given below
- Ranthambore was strategically very important. Alauddin Khilji wished to occupy this invincible fort and dominate the Rajput kings.
- Ranthambore was situated quite close to Delhi. Due to this, Alauddin Khilji could not bear the increasing power of the Chauhans of this region.
- Before Alauddin Khilji, his uncle Jalaluddin Khilji had made efforts twice to occupy this fort but he had remained unsuccessful. Alauddin Khilji wished to avenge the failure of his uncle.
- Alauddin Khilji was an ambitious and imperialistic ruler. The attack upon Ranthambore was the result of this policy.
Protection to the Rebels of Alauddin Khilji by Hammir Dev:
According to Nayanchandra Suri’s ‘Hammir Mahakavya’, one reason for attack upon Ranthambore was that its ruler Hammir had given protection to Alauddin Khilji’s rebel commander Mir Muhammad. Muslim historian Isami has also confirmed this reason in his description. He has written that in 1299 CE, Aladuddin Khilji had sent his two commanders Ulugh Khan and Nusrat Khan to invade Gujarat.
After conquering Gujarat when the army was returning, then on the issue of division of booty the ‘Nav Muslims (Mongols who had settled in India during the reign of Jalaluddin Firoz Khilji and had accepted Islam as their religion) revolted near Jalore. Although the rebels were barbarically suppressed yet out of them Muhammad Shah and his brother Kamru were successful in running away from there and reaching Ranthambore ruler Hammir.
Hammir not only provided them protection, but also conferred the Jagir of ‘Jagana’ upon Muhammad Shah. According to Chandrashekhar’s composition ‘Hammir Hath’, Muhammad Shah had fallen in love with a Maratha wife of Alauddin Khilji and they both became united and framed a conspiracy to eliminate Alauddin Khilji.
As Alauddin Khilji got information about this conspiracy in due time, efforts were made to imprison Mir Muhammad Shah, but he fled away and reached Hammir’s haven. From Alauddin Khilji’s side, a demand was made to hand over these rebels.
When Hammir rejected this demand, the army of Alauddin Khilji attacked Ranthambore. Initial Success of Hammir In the end of 1299 CE, Alauddin Khilji sent an army under the joint leadership of Ulugh Khan, Alap Khan and Nusrat Khan to occupy Ranthambore. This army occupied Jhain Fort named name ‘Ranthambore Ki Kunji’. According to Isami after this conquest Ulugh Khan changed the name of Jhain to ‘Nau Shahar’.
It is written in ‘Hammir Mahakavya’at that time Hammir had just completed the Koti Yajna and was busy in ‘Muni Vrat. Due to this he did not proceed himself instead he sent his two commanders-Bhim Singh and Dharam Singh to confront the enemy. Both these commanders ousted the Khilji’s army backwards and seized the looted goods. The Rajput army violently attacked upon the army of the enemy in which the army of Alauddin Khilji had to face defeat.
Under the leadership of Dharam Singh one group of the army returned to Ranthambore along with the booty looted from the royal army, while Bhim Singh lagged behind. Taking advantage of this opportunity, the scattered royal army attacked upon him under the leadership of Alap Khan. In this struggle, Bhim Singh was killed along with hundreds of his supporters.
The appointment of Bhojraj as new minister-Hammir held Dharam Singh responsible for the death of Bhim Singh and blinded him and made Bhojraj as the new minister. Bhojraj could not control the disfigured situation of Ranthambore and he soon became unpopular. In such condition, Dharam Singh convinced Hammir of increasing the revenue of the kingdom and reoccupied his earlier titles.
Dharma Singh wished to avenge his insult and he imposed several taxes on the subjects and started to collect them forecefully. Due to this, dissatisfaction increased among the people. On the other hand, Bhojraj got angered as he was debarred from the services of Hammir and so he went away to Alauddin Khilji’s court. He started to induce the Sultan to invade Ranthambore.
Though Sultan sent his army to conquer Ranthambore, the Chauhan army defeated the royal army badly in the battle which took place in the Valley of Hinduvat. After getting information about this insulting defeat, the Sultan sent a massive army under the leadership of Ulugh Khan and Nusrat Khan. This army occupied the Jhain fort. After conquering Jhain, Ulugh Khan resent the message of Alauddin Khilji via an ambassador named Mehalnasi in the court of Hammir.
In this message, demand was made to hand over both the rebels – Muhammad Shah and Kamru and as well the hand of Hammir’s daughter Devaladevi for the Sultan. Although Devaladevi suggested to accept this offer for the protection of the kingdom yet Hammir chose the option of struggle. Ulugh Khan surrounded the fort of Ranthambore and built Pashibs and Gargachs on all the four sides and showered stones upon the fort keepers through Magrabs.
In the fort also various Bhairav Yantras, Thikuliya and Makrati Yantras were installed to shower stones, through which one stone that was thrown incidentally hit Nusrat Khan. Nusrat Khan got injured and after a few days, he died. Due to this, the royal army got desperate. Taking due advantage of this situation, Hammir came out of the fort and attacked upon the royal army.
Due to this sudden attack, upset Ulugh Khan was forced to move back from Jhain’s side. Alauddin’s reaching Ranthambore and occupying Ranthambore After the failure of Ulugh Khan, Alauddin Khilji himself reached Ranthambore. In his composition ‘Khazain – Ul – Futuh’, Amir Khusrau has depicted the eye witnessed description of this compaign and has said that – In this invasion, the Sultan took assistance from Pasheb, Magrabi and Arradaa.
After several efforts when Alauddin Khilji remained unsuccessful in conquering the fort, he resorted to treason and diplomacy and sent an offer of reconciliation to Hammir. For this treaty, Hammir sent his commander Ratipal. Alauddin Khilji tempted Ratipal and with his assistance antoher commander of Hammir named Rannal to grant them the fort of Ranthambore and got their favour.
In Chauhan compositions, it has been mentioned that Alauddin won the favour of one of the officers of Hammir and adulterated the food present in the fort. Due to this, severe crisis of food emerged in the fort. In this context, Amir Khushru has written that “In exchange of two grains of gold, not even one grain-rice was available.” Due to lack of food, Hammir was forced to get out of the fort but due to the betrayal of Ranmal and Ratipal, he had to face defeat.
During the battle, Hammir died while confronting the enemy while the brave Rajput women performed Jauhar under the leadership of his queen Rangdevi. According to Jodhraj’s composition ‘Hammir Raso’, in this Jauhar, the women of Muhammad Shah were also burnt along with Rangadevi. At some places, it is mentioned that Rangadevi had performed ‘Jal Jauhar’ in ‘Padmala Pond’ situated in the fort.
In this way Alauddin Khilji occupied Ranthambore on 11th July 1301 CE. In the battle, Mir Muhammad became injured while fighting from Hammir’s side. As Alauddin Khilji noticed the injured Muhammad Shah, he questioned “If you are cured, what will you do ?” At this Muhammad Shah bravely assured, “Firstly I would kill you and secondly, I will enthrone a successor of Hammir on the throne of Ranthambore.” Alauddin got extremely angered at this answer and he got Muhammad Shah assasinated by crushing him under the feet of elephants.
Question 4.
Describe the initial problems of Rao Chandrasen. What efforts were made by Akbar to insist Chandrasen for the acceptance of his sovereignty. Or Rao Chandrasen was ‘the Mentor of Pratap’. Justify the statement.
Answer:
Rao Chandrasen was the youngest son of Rao Maldeo (1532-62 CE), the famous ruler of ‘Jodhpur. During the reign of Rao Madeo, the ruler of Delhi, Sher Shah Suri had invaded Marwar. In the battle of Giri Sumel (Pali) fought between the two in 1544 CE, Sher Shah Suri was able to win owing to treason and deception, but Rao Maldeo’s two courageous commanders Jaita and Kumpa gave such stiff shock to him that according to historian Farishta, Sher Shah got off from his horse and started to pray to God for his safety.
The fear of Sher Shah is known from his statement in which he had said, “I would have lost the kingship of India for a handful a millet.” According to the Khyat of Jodhpur state, Chandrasen was born in 1541 CE. Rao Maldeo was unhappy with his elder son Ram, while his younger son Udai Singh was deprived of royal succession by queen consort Swarupde (Chandrasen’s mother). For this reason, after the death of Maldeo, Chandrasen attained the throne of Jodhpur 31st December 1562 CE as per his wishe on.
During the reign of Maldeo, he had been granted the jagirs of Bisalpur and Siwana Suppression of internal revolt-After a short time of becoming the ruler, Chandrasen once became agitated and killed his servant. Due to this, Jaitmaal and some other similar chieftains got angered. The annoyed chieftains made an alliance with his rebel brothers Ram Udai Singh and Raimal and invited them to invade in order to punish Chandrasen. Ram started tyranny in Sojat while Raimal started nuisance in Dunara province and Udai Singh occupied Gangaani and Bavadi.
As soon as chandrasen got this information, he sent his army to suppress the tyranny, due to which Ram and Raimal returned to their respective jagirs while Udai Singh fought him back at a place called Lohavat. In this battle Udai Singh became injured and Chandrasen stood victorious. In 1563 CE, another struggle took place between the armies of Chandrasen and Udai Singh at a place called Nadol, but noticing no chances of winning, Udai Singh fled away to the court of Emeror Akbar.
Jodhpur Occupied by the Mughals Akbar got on opportunity to interfere due to mutual conflict between Rao Chandrasen and his unsatisfied brothers Ram, Udai Singh and Raimal. Soon after, he sent an army under the leadership of Hussain Quli Khan, which occupied Jodhpur.
In Jodhpur Ki Khyat, an exaggerated description of the Mughal campaign has been done which says that the royal army invaded Jodhpur three times and after around ten months of enclosure, due to the lack of good material and water, Chandrasen was forced to leave the place and move to Bhadrajun. After Jodhpur slipped away from his hands, Chandrasen’s financial position started to deteriorate and he started selling his gems and other precious things to bear his daily expenses.
Pt Bishweshwar Rao has considered the main reason of Akbar’s attack upon Jodhpur to be the non-co-operation by Rao Maldeo of Jodhpur to his father Humayun. Nagaur Court-During his Ajmer visit in 1570 CE, Akbar heard about the dearth of Marwar region and he reached Nagaur. On this occasion, he dug a pond as a remedy for this dearth, which became famous by the name of ‘Shukra Talab’. In fact, the objective of this court was to evaluate the political condition of Marwar.
Mughal Campaign Against Chandrasen-After some time of organization of Nagaur, the Mughal army invaded Bhadrajun. In February 1571 CE, Chandrasen renounced Bhadrajun and went away towards Siwana. On one hand revolts were spread in Gujarat in 1572 CE while on the other hand due to Maharana Pratap becoming the ruler, the threat of Mewar becoming aggressive had also emerged.
In such condition, Akbar appointed Rai Singh of Bikaner as the ruler of Jodhpur and sent him towards Gujrat so that Maharana Pratap could not block the road to Gujrat and provide any harm. The conquest of Akbar on Siwana fort-In 1573 CE, in order to subjugate Chandrasen, Akbar sent Jagat Singh, Keshavdas Medatia, Rai Singh of Bikaner alongwith Shah Quli Khan.
This army defeated Kalla, the nephew of Chandrasen in Sojat and reached Siwana. According to the advice of his Commanders, Chandrasen handed the task of protection of the fort to Patta Rathore and himself went away in the hills and from there itelf, he started causing harm to the Mughal army from the backside by adopting gurilla method of warfare.
Due to the sucessful joint opposition of Patta Rathore and Chandrasen, Rai Singh demanded for additional military assistance from Akbar. As Akbar sent a massive army, Chandrasen moved towards the hill. Although the Mughal army followed him yet it remained unsuccessful in catching him. Being dissapointed by this failure, Akbar called his Emirs up and scolded them bitterly.
In order to subjugate Chandrasen, Akbar sent a massive army towards Siwana in 1575 CE under the leadership of Jalal Khan, in which emirs such as Syed Ahmed, Syed Hashim, Shimal Khan and others were also included. During the extended struggle, one day Chandrasen got an opportunity and invaded the Mughal army with the assistance of his companion Devidas. Jalal Khan was killed in this attack.
This incident gave a severe set back to the Mughal army. Now Akbar sent Shahbaz Khan, Soon after he occupied Devkor and Dunada and surrrounded Siwana. When the food stock ended in the fort, the protector of the fort was forced to leave the fort. In this way, Akbar occupied Siwana fort in 1575 CE.
After the ‘Emergency-time Capital Siwana went out of hands, Rawal Harrai of Jailsalmer invaded Pokaran in October, 1575 CE. At this time, Anandram Pancholi was the fort keeper from the side of Rao Chandrasen. After four months of enclosure, Rawal Harrai put an offer in front of Chandrasen that, “In exchange of one lakh fadiyas; give me Pokaran, and after Jodhpur is occupied, return those one lakh fadiyas to me and take Pokaran back.
In that condition of financial emergency, Chandrasen accepted this offer and granted Pokaran to the Bhatis in January 1576 CE. Even after Pokaran, which was the last way of hope for Chandrasen, went out of his hands, he did not become disappointed. Roaming in Sirohi, Dungarpur and Banswari for around one and a half year, Chandrasen looted the Sarwad Thana of the Mughals in 1579 CE and occupied it.
After this, he started to invade the province of Ajmer also. As Emperor Akbar got this news he sent an army under the leadership of Payanda Mohammad Khan, Chandrasen confronted this army in 1580 CE, but he was forced to return to the hills after becoming unsuccessful. After a few days. Chandrasen reorganized the army and invaded Sojat on 7th July 1580 CE. After occupying Sojat, he established his settlement in the hillls of Sarna.
At the same place he died on 11th January 1581 CE. According to the Khyat of Jodhpur state, Vaisal, one of the feudal lords of Chandrasen, betrayed him and gave him poison in the food that caused his death. Evaluation of Rao Chandrasen-Chandrasen was the first ruler of independent throughts in Rajasthan during Akbar’s period. His brothers continued to lead a royal life while he sustained his life by selling his gems and ornaments.
Chandrasen chose to leave the state of Jodhpur and roam for days and nights in the hills and confront the Mughal army, but he did not accept the sovereignty of the Mughals. The start of the struggle which was done by Chandrasen, was adopted by Maharana Pratap who became extremely renowned in the later period. Due to this, Chandrasen is also known as “The Mentor of Pratap” and “The Pratap of Marwar”.
As Chandrasen did not receive due recognition in history, he is also called as “The forgotten Hero of Marwar.” The major reason behaved the fading off the name of Chandrasen in history is because on one hand, after the death of Pratap the rule of state of Mewar fell into the hands of his sons and son – in – laws, and on the other hands after the death of Chandrasen, his brother Udai Singh occupied the throne of Marwar.
Chandrasen and Udai Singh were always in conflict. Chandrasen and Pratap Both Rao Chandrasen and Maharana Pratap are renowned for their lifetime struggle against Mughal emperor Akbar. In their context, it has been said that
अणदगिया तुरी ऊजला असमर, चाकर रहण न डिगियो चीत।
सारे हिन्दुस्तान तणै सिर पातल नै चन्द्रसेण प्रवीत ॥
(At that time there were only two brave warriors in entire India – Maharana Pratap and Rao Chandrasen who neither accepted the sovereignty of Akbar nor they allowed the royal seal to be applied on their horses. Their weapons always glittered against the Mughal Emperor).
Both Chandrasen and Pratap were forced to confront the opposition of their brothers and companions. Like Pratap, Chandrasen did not occupy extended part of Marwar. The Mughals were occupying Mandalgarh and Chittor in Mewar and Medta, Nagaur, Ajmer and other places in Marwar. Alongwith similarities, we also find fundamental differences in the activities of both the rulers.
Both the rulers remained in their hilly territories and beat the Mughals but like Pratap did, Chandrasen was unable to establish a permanent capital like Chavand. Pratap received assistance in special circumstances due to presence of Chandrasen and decentralization of the Mughal army.
Question 5.
Mention the earlier life of Shivaji and his relationship with Mughals. Or How did Shivaji oppose Mughals ? Explain.
Answer:
Shivaji was the son of Sardar Shahji Bhonsle and Jijabai. He was born on 20th April 1627 in a hilly fort of Shivner near Puna (Maharashtra). Shivaji’s childhood passed in the lap of Jijabai and under the guardianship of Dada Kond Dev, away from his father.
As a child, Shivaji was provided military education alongwith the knowledge of Hindu religious scriptures by his mother and guardian. Right from childhood, Shivaji had acquired full knowledge of the Ramayana, the Mahabharata and other Hindu scriptures. At the age of 12, he obtained his father’s Jagir Puna.
Military Campaigns of Shivaji Military Compaign against Bijapur-Shivaji performed the initial military compaigns of his lifetime against the state of Bijapur. At this time, Sultan Muhammad Adil Shah was lying on the death bed after remaining ill for a long time and the state was in a miserable condition. In 1646 CE, Shivaji occupied a hill fort named Toran in Bijapur.
Shivaji expanded his army with the obtained wealth and gave a new form to the ruined fort of Murumbgarh which was situated five miles east to Toran fort and renamed it as Rajgarh. As Shivaji had bribed the major ministers of Bijapur and gained their favour, the Sultan of Bijapur was unable to take any action against Shivaji at that time.
Murder of Afzal Khan-Sultan Adil Shah became nervous due to the increasing power of Shivaji. Even more, no other commander of Bijapur was ready to campaign against Shivaji. Finally, a commander Afzal Khan took this initiative saying that, “I will capture Shivaji even without stepping off from my horse.” In 1659 CE, Afzal Khan proceeded against Shivaji, taking a masive army along with him.
Afzal Khan resorted to deciet and sent his ambassador Krishanji Bhaskar to Shivaji offering him a proposal of talk of alliance. Shivaji realized the hidden objective of Afzal Khan but accepted the proposal of alliance talk in a cautious way. On the fixed day, Shivaji wore armour under his clothes alongwith an iron cap and went to meet Afzal Khan. He had hidden sharp daggers such as baghnakh in his left hand and bichwa in his right hand.
During the meeting, while embracing Shivaji, Afzal Khan tried to catch his neck and assassinate him with his sword, but he could not do so. At that very momend, Shivaji used his bagnakh and killed Afzal Khan. As soon as Afzal Khan died, the Maratha soldiers, who were hiding in several parts of the jungle, invaded and ousted the army of Bijapur.
This incident enhanced the prestige of Shivaji tremendously. After Afzal Khan moment Bijapur sent various campaign against Shivaji, but they were of no use. Shivaji and the Mughals Aurangzeb was extremely terrified due to the increasing power of Shivaji. To eliminate Shivaji, he appointed his maternal uncle Shaista Khan as the Subedar of the south.
Soon after Shaista Khan occupied Puna, he started to operate campaigns against Shivaji from the itself. Shaista Khan was staying in the same palace where Shivaji had spent his childhood.. In the evening of 15th April 1663, Shivaji reached Puna alongwith around 400 soldiers.
When he reached the place where Shaista Khan was staying, he was stopped by the Mughal security men. Shivaji made them inattentive by saying that they were the Maratha soldiers of Mughal army itself and were going to their respective camps. At midnight, alongwith his soldiers Shivaji started massacre at the encampment of Shaista Khan. One finger of Shaista Khan was cut off, but he became successful in running away taking advantage of night time.
One of his sons, his six wives and many Mughal soldiers were killed in this campaign. When Aurangzeb got the news of this campaign he, got extremely angered. In order to punish Shaista Khan for his failure, he sent him to Bengal.
Muazzam and Jaswant Singh – After Shaista Khan, Aurangzeb sent Prince Muazzam and Jaswant Singh of Marwar to eliminate Shivaji, but they failed in this objective. This encouraged Shivaji, and he started looting the Mughal regions without any fear. In January 1664 CE, he looted the prosperous city of Surat. Shivaji obtained ornaments worth one crore rupees, gems etc.
Jai Singh and the treaty of Purandar – Now Aurangzeb sent army commanders Diler Khan and Taj Khan along with Mirza Raja Jai Singh, who was an skilled diplomat from Amer. Mirza Raja Jai Singh had said “We will tie him enclosed in a circle.”
The diplomat Jai Singh obtained the favour of not only the opponents of Shivaji but he also gave bribe to various Marathas and obtained their favour also. While invading the Maratha state, he surrounded Shivaji in Purandar Fort. Shivaji was forced to sign the treaty of Purandar with Jai Singh in June 1665 CE.
According to the provisions of this treaty, he handed 23 forts to the Mughals and convinced them to provide support to him against Bijapur in time of need. Shivaji was not forced to appear in the court personally. During the time of this treaty, French traveller Bernir was also present.It was clearly mentioned in the provisions of the treaty that Shivaji would not be forced to apear in the Mughal court. Even after this, Jai Singh convinced Shivaji to travel to Agra.
Probably, Shivaji also considered it to be a good opportunity to come in contact with Mughal court and understand the situation of northern India. In May 1666 CE, Shivaji visited the Mughal court in Agra. Aurangzeb did not give proper respect to Shivaji, behaved with him in inappropriate manner and made him stand in the third line of mansabdars.
When Shivaji saw that Jaswant Singh was standing in front of him, he said unhappily “I have been forced to stand behind that Jaswant Singh who showed his back to my soldiers.” As he was not given due respect in the court, Shivaji became unhappy and he returned to the residence of Ram Singh (son of Mirza Raja Jai Singh). Aurangzeb imprisoned Shivaji in “Jaipur Bhavan” and decided to kill him.
Even in such serious sitution, Shivaji didn’t lose his calm and started looking for behind opportunity to save himself from the claws of the Mughals. Shivaji pretended to be ill, and according to Hindu tradition, he started to grant sweets, fruit etc. to the poor and helpless in the form of charity. Baskets of sweets and fruits began to arrive in the prison regularly.
In the beginning, the watchmen used to perfrom thorough checking of the baskets but later they became quite careless. Getting the opportunity, Shivaji sat along with his son Sambhaji in these baskets and became successful in getting out of the prison to reach Maharashtra. Because leading the life of a prisoner and the tiresome journey, Shivaji’s health deteriorated significantly.
On the other hand, new Mughal Subedar Muazzam was a luxurious man and his asistant Jaswant Singh was compassionate towards Shivaji. In such time, both the parties desired to stop war. In 1667 CE, under mediation of Jaswant Singh, Mughal Maratha treaty was signed, according to which Aurangzeb accepted Shivaji as an independent ruler and gave recognition to the title of ‘Raja’.
Even after the treaty, Aurangzeb did not refrain from playing cards against Shivaji. Due to this, Shivaji again looted Surat in 1670 CE and started to recoccupy the regions which he had lost earlier.
Coronation of Shivaji – Shivaji called a Brahmin named Gangabhatt from Benaras and performed his coronation in the capital Raigarh in June 1674 CE and gained the titles of ‘Chhatrapati’, ‘Hindu Dharmoddharak’, ‘Gau Brahman Pratipalak’etc. The last days of Shivaji were spent in distress.
On one hand, he was unhappy as his son Sambhaji had moved in the haven of the Mughals and on the other hand, his wife Soyarabai was planning a conspiracy to make her son Rajaram his successor. In such conditions, Shivaji died in April 1680 CE.
Evaluation of Shivaji Shivaji struggled throughout his life to instill a renewed spirit of renaissance in his people and for the objective of establishing an independent Hindu kingdom. He remained successful in fulfilling his objectives to a large extent. According to Sir Jadunath Sarkar, Shivaji was the last talented and nation building ruler of Hindu species.”
At the time he had emerged on the horizon of Maharashtra, the Marathas were scattered everywhere in the south under the sovereignty of the foreign ruler. By organizing them, Shivaji proved that he could establish not an a kingdom but also a nation. He established the Maratha kingdom by strongly opposing the Mughals.
Question 6.
Describe the history of Peshwas after Shivaji.
Answer:
At the time of weak successors of Shivaji, the reign of Maratha kingdom came in the hands of their Peshwa (Prime minister). The rule of Peshwas began during the reign of Balaji Vishwanath. Balaji Vishwanath – Balaji vishvanath was the first Peshwa who had been appointed on this post of Maratha ruler in 1713 CE. During his reign, Sayyid brothers – Abdullah Khan and Hussain Ali were regarded as the empire builders of Delhi.
The Sayyid brothers had dethroned Bahadur Shah – I and enthroned Farrukhsiyar on the Mughal throne, but soon after this, he started a conspiracy against these two brothers. When Mirabakshi Hussain Ali, who was present in Deccan at that time, came to know about this conspiracy, he signed a treaty with Maratha ruler Shahu in the year 1719 CE in order to attack Farukhsiyar. According to the provisions of this treaty:
- The Mughals would return all those regions to Shahu which were famous by the name of Shivaji’s ‘Swaraj’.
- The claim of occupacy of the Marathas on the regions won by them in Khandesh, Barar, Gondwana, Hyderabad and Karnataka in recent time would be accepted.
- The Marathas would be allowed to collect taxes named Chauth and Sardeshmukhi from six provinces of Deccan.
- In exchange of Chauth, 15,000 Maratha soldiers would remain in service of the Mughal emperor.
- Shahu’s mother Yasubai and his wife alongwith the members of the royal family of Marathas who had been imprisoned in Delhi would be freed and sent back.
According to the treaty, when Hussain Ali proceeded towards Delhi, 15,000 Maratha soldiers assisted him under the leadership of Balaji Vishwanath and Khanderao Dhamade. The Sayyid brothers removed Farrukhsiyar and made Rafi – Ud – Darajat as the Mughal emperor, who gave acceptance to the above mentioned treaty.
Gaining the right of collecting Chauth and Sardeshmukhi was a great achievement of Balaji Vishwanath. He is regarded as the second founder (Shivaji was the founder) of the Maratha empire.
Peshwa Bajirao (1720 – 40 CE – After the death of Peshwa Balajji Vishwanath, his elder son Bajirao (1720-40 CE) was appointed on the post of Peshwa. At that time, he was merely 20 years of age. Taking advantage of the miesrable condition of the Mughal empire, he made efforts to seize as many regions as he could.
Through his oratory skills, he gained the support of Shahu, saying that “This is the right time for us to oust the foreigners from the country and become glorious. We should attack on the roots of the dried up tree and the branches will fall down for themselves.” Influenced with the plan of Peshwa, Shahu said that “you will host the Maratha flag on the peak of Mount Everest. Undoubtedly, you are a capable son of a capable father.”
According to his policy, Bajirao crossed the Narmada and occupied Malwa in 1724 CE. The ruler of Jaipur Sawai Jai Singh, who was in royal service, shortly became the friend of Peshwa as he was compassionate with the Marathas. Due to this, the Peshwa had to face very little opposition. The most intense problem which the Peshwa had to face was in establishing cordial relations with Nizam – Ul – Mulk, the most powerful Chieftain of the Mughal empire.
The Nizam considered himself as the undisputed ruler of the south. Due to Maratha invasions in this region, he started to consider them as his greatest enemy. Therefore, he started violating the treaty from 1719 CE onwards, and in place of Shahu, he gave recognition to his opponent Sambhaji as the chief of Maratha empire.
In March 1728 CE Peshwa defeated the army of Nizam at a place named Palkhed near Aurangabad, and forced him to sign the Treaty of Mungi Shivagaon. Provisions of the treaty of Mungi Shivagaon.
- Nizam shunned the responsibility of providing protection to Sambhaji and accepted to send him to Panhal.
- It was decided to give up the annexed Maratha region and to release the Maratha prisoners.
- According to the treaty of 1719 CE, Shahu’s right of collecting Chauth and Sardeshmukhi tax was accepted.
After some time in exchange of Chauth and Sardeshmukhi, the Peshwa pledged that he would not invade the regions held by Nizam and Nizam accepted to remain neutral in the invasions made by the Marathas in South India. Now the Peshwa focussed his attention on North and occupied the Mughal regions of Malwa and Bundelkhand in 1728 CE.
In March 1737 CE, Saadat Khan, the Subedar of Awadh defeated Maratha Commander Malhaar Rao Holkar and boasting of this victory, he sent this news to Delhi that he had ousted the Marathas across the Chambal. To confirm this victory, Bajirao settled the journey of 14 day in just 2 days and rushed upon Delhi. Bajirao sent a message to the Mughal Emperor who was terrified from this attack that the objective of his compaign was nothing but to show that he was still alive.
After returning from Delhi, Peshwa defeated the Nizam and forced him to sign the treaty of Daraha Sarai on 17th January, 1738 CE. According to this treaty, he surrendered the region from entire Malwa and Narmada upto Chambal in the sovereignty of Bajirao.
In 1740 CE, Bajirao defeated Nasir Jung, the second son of Nizam – Ul – Mulk and forced him to sign the treaty of Mungi Sivagaon. According to this treaty, Nasir Jung handed over the districts of Handia and Khargaon to the Marathas. On gth May 1740 CE, Bajirao met sudden death at a place called Ravar on the banks of river Narmada.
Leave a Reply